The Kungfu that Ruled the Night Ch. 16-30

Chapter 16 : Ah Keong’s reward

Breakfast was ready when Wen Yiji got up from sleep. Shi Mei had got up earlier and performed all the necessary preparations.

“Good morning, brother Wen,” she greeted his half invisible form. “I have prepared some light mince meat porridge for you to eat.”

“Oh,” he said. “Where did you get the mince meat?”

“There was a street vendor at the door and so I bought some meat from him.”

“You have been spending your own money on me again? You shouldn’t have.”

“Don’t worry about it, brother Wen. I still have one tael left. But in a few days’ time, I will have to think about getting a job or we’ll starve to death.”

“You do not have to get a job, Shi Mei. I have money. Here! See some Fairy Magic!”

A bag of money containing seventy taels appeared out of the air in front of her. Each time he did something while being semi-invisible, he would jokingly refer to it as Fairy Magic. Shi Mei took the money bag from the outstretched hand that extended from the seemingly empty space. She opened the bag.

“This is a lot of silver, brother Wen!” she exclaimed. “How did you get it?”

“Seventy taels is not a lot of money!” he laughed. “I want you to keep the money bag with you to pay for our expenses. Once that runs out, please let me know.”

“You do not have any more potatoes to sell and yet you do not appear to have a shortage of money.”

“I am not a potato seller, Shi Mei. Seriously, I don’t think that trading is suitable for a person of my nature. Early this year, I bought several choice lots of land in Tsinkiang. I am thinking of putting up houses on the land and then renting them out. I shall become a property developer and landlord! Easy money!”

“Renting out houses is not always easy. You will have to select the right tenants. The wrong sort of tenants will not pay their rent on time.”

“You are right to consider this, but it is not a problem. If the tenant is very chao kah and does not want to pay me on time, then I will beat him up until his mother will not recognize him! That will teach him how to be responsible!”

“What?” asked Shi Mei in horror. “That will not do!”

“You are right,” he said. “That may not be enough. I shall beat him up until he cannot remember his own surname!”

“No, no, no!” exclaimed Shi Mei. “I mean that you should be a civilized businessman! You can’t go around beating people up!”

“Hmmmm……say…..you do have a point! I am a highly civilized businessman. This type of si beh rough hooligan activity should not be done by me. No, I must not sink so low. So…..okay…..it looks like I will have to hire other people to beat up the chao kah laggard tenants for me!”

Shi Mei sighed. Wen Yiji was the weirdest man she ever met. Yet she sensed that he was not a bad person.

“What are you going to do to this burnt-out house when you leave?” she asked.

“The house is burnt down so it is useless,” he remarked. “The land is too small to grow much things. I don’t think that I want to sell the land. I’ll think of something. There is one thing that I would like to take care of.”

“What’s that?”

“Ah Keong. I have a huge debt to settle with him.”

“You owe him money?”

“I owe him my life. When I was imprisoned in the Li-Khor prison, he made sure that I always had enough food and clean drinking water. That was how I managed to last six years in there. Most prisoners die within two years in Li-Khor prison. Usually from starvation or from rancid food. Yes, he took good very care of me. When I was entering the Imperial City several days ago, he also got injured on my behalf. I owe him a lot.”

“How are you going to repay him?”

“I have two sacks of money here which I got yesterday. I wish to give one sack to him.”

Wen Yiji pointed at his two sacks of money that he had won the previous night.

“More money?” she asked in amazement. “What kind of business are you conducting in the city?”

“Relax!” he assured her. “I did not get it by stealing or robbing! It’s all legitimate! I won it from a casino last night.”

“All right,” she smiled. “How much money is in there?”

“I have three thousand taels in each small sack,” he replied.

“That much? Are you sure that you want to give one sack to Ah Keong? It is a small fortune!”

“Yes. What Ah Keong has done for me, I cannot measure with money. Giving him three thousand taels is my way of repaying him.”

“It is a lot of money. He may not want to accept it because he has his own honour.”

“Are you kidding? Of course he will accept it! It is money. Real money! In the real world, there is no room for honour when it comes to money!”

“We shall see, brother Wen,” she said laughingly.

+ + + + + +

At Ah Keong’s house later, Shi Mei gave the man another acupuncture treatment. Then she announced that Ah Keong was healing nicely and should be able to work within a few days.

“Every time you treat me, I feel like a new man,” commented Ah Keong. “Miss Zheng, your healing skills are unbelievable. Yet you are so young. How is it that you are able to do what you do?”

“It is nothing,” she said smilingly. “Ever since I was young, I had the natural ability to feel the qi lines of the body. If there was a blockage, I will just stick a needle in and stimulate the point. If I want to block a particular qi flow, I stick in another needle. Your ribs are healing nicely but I will recommend that you do no heavy lifting for at least a couple of months.”

“Thank you Miss Zheng,” said the grateful Ah Keong. “May Heaven bless you throughout your life.”

“We will be leaving this place soon, Ah Keong,” said Wen Yiji. “I will dig up the graves of my family members and then take them away with me for reburial in Tsinkiang. I will not be coming back. Please take good care of yourself when I am gone.”

“I will be sorry to see you go, Master Wen,” said Ah Keong.

“There is one thing that I wish to do before I leave,” said Wen Yiji. “I owe you a very large debt. If it were not for you, I do not think that I will be alive today.”

“Please do not think too much of it, Master Wen. What I did was nothing extraordinary.”

“Nevertheless, I would still like to express my gratitude. I have a sack of money here which I would like you to have. Please take it.”

Wen Yiji handed a sack of money to Ah Keong who opened it. His eyes opened wide in astonishment.

“Oh no,” protested Ah Keong. “There could be one thousand silver taels in here! It is too large a gift! I could not possibly take it!”

“Take it, Ah Keong. It is nothing but a small token,” insisted Wen Yiji. He made no mention of the fact that the little sack actually contained much more than a thousand taels.

“No, Master Wen. It is too much!” protested Ah Keong.

“Please take it, Ah Keong.”

“No, Master Wen.”

Thus, the two of them argued back and forth. Shi Mei settled back and watched them both with amusement.

Finally, Wen Yiji looked in Shi Mei’s direction. She understood the look; he needed some help.

“Brother Wen,” she said. “You cannot force Ah Keong to accept what he does not want to accept. I know that you mean the best for him, but a man’s wealth is dictated by the will of Heaven. If it is not his time to have money, then he will not have money. But if it is his time to have money, then even if you do not give it to him, he will still have money. Heaven rules the fortune of every man.”

“That is correct,” agreed Ah Keong. “Miss Zheng is very wise.”

“But I must give something to Ah Keong,” persisted Wen Yiji. “Or I cannot leave this city in peace.”

“You do not have to help me that much, Master Wen,” laughed Ah Keong. “The will of Heaven determines how much I should have!”

“In that case, this matter will be simple to solve,” said Shi Mei. “Brother Wen, you have another sack inside your carriage don’t you? It contains only unwanted metal and scrap pieces of paper. Why don’t you bring it down?”

“The sack of unwanted metal?” asked a puzzled Wen Yiji. The other sack on board the carriage also contained three thousand taels. However, he remembered that Shi Mei once solved the argument between him and the Ghost Ninja aboard a boat on the Yellow River. She must have thought of an idea.

“Yes, the jute sack at the back where you used to keep your potatoes,” said Shi Mei. “The one with all the unwanted stuff inside.”

Wen Yiji did not know what her plan was, but he brought down the second sack of money. It was tightly tied with string and Wen Yiji made no effort to open it.

“Ah Keong,” said Shi Mei. “Brother Wen insists on giving you something. Now we shall let Heaven decide which one you take; the first sack of money or the second sack of stuff. There is a pile of chopsticks on the table behind you. Without turning around to look at them, I want you to guess the number of chopsticks there are. If you guess correctly, then you get to choose which sack you take. If you guess wrongly, then Brother Wen will decide which sack you take. Is that fair?”

“Wait a moment,” said Wen Yiji. “This is his house. Of course he will know how many chopsticks there are on his table.”

“He is a man,” said Shi Mei simply. “He is most unlikely to know how many chopsticks he has. Do you know how many chopsticks there are in your own house, brother Wen?”

“No,” admitted Wen Yiji. “My sister is the one who keeps track of such things. All right, that is a fair question.”

“Well, Ah Keong,” said Shi Mei. “Do you think that this is a good method for deciding? Or would you like some other method?”

“No, no, no,” replied Ah Keong. “This method is good. Heaven will determine the way I guess, and if I guess correctly then I will take whichever sack I choose!”

“All right then,” relented Wen Yiji. “We will let Heaven decide.”

“In that case, I guess twenty-six!” said Ah Keong. He knew exactly how many chopsticks he had.

Shi Mei, counted the chopsticks on the table and said, “You are correct! There are exactly twenty-six chopsticks here! All right, you may choose which sack you wish to take!”

“I choose the second sack…the one with the unwanted stuff!” said Ah Keong.

“No regrets?” asked Shi Mei. “You can still choose the first sack.”

“No regrets!” said Ah Keong. “This is the will of Heaven.”

“All right then,” said Wen Yiji. “Fair is fair. If you said that this is the will of Heaven, then I will not argue.”

“Of course it is the will of Heaven!” laughed Ah Keong.

Wen Yiji picked up the second sack of three thousand taels and deposited it in the corner of the room. He took his first sack of money and prepared to leave. After some small talk, Wen Yiji and Shi Mei told Ah Keong that it was time that they left.

As he was leaving, Wen Yiji turned his head to Ah Keong and said, “When you open the second sack afterwards, remember that everything goes according to the will of Heaven!”

While they were on the carriage, Wen Yiji turned to Shi Mei and commented, “That was done so slickly! I did not realize that you could fool him with such a straight face.”

“Hey,” said Shi Mei. “I am a daifu. We daifus fool people all the time.”

“You do?”

“Of course! If a patient asks if my needles will hurt, I’ll tell her that there is no pain! Otherwise she will not take the treatment! And if a child asks if the medicine is bitter, I’ll lie through my teeth and say “No!” Doctors lie all the time. It is a professional requirement!”

“It was good to see that Ah Keong’s injuries are very much better already.”

“Yours too, brother Wen. I think by tomorrow, I should be able to pronounce you fit as an ox in spring.”

“Good! Because there is someone whom I wish to beat up.”

“Brother Wen!”

“Oh, sorry. I should not be saying such things to you. I am a civilized man! There is one other thing that I had meant to ask you f or some time now, but I keep forgetting.”

“What is it?”

“Have you ever come across a case where the sound of a flute can kill?”

“I do not know whether the sound of a flute can kill, but sound does have an effect on us. The roar of a tiger has been known to freeze its prey. This is known as sound sha.”

“Is there a way to prevent sound sha from entering the body?”

“Sure, you can cover the ears. But it may not be fully effective. Sound can also enter the body by other orifices such as the nostrils. You would have to ear plugs and nose plugs.”

“And maybe a butt plug.”

“Don’t be gross, brother Wen! I seriously doubt if sound can enter through there!”

+ + + + + +

In the house, Ah Keong managed to open the sack of “stuff’ He could not believe his eyes when he saw the money. Together with his mother, they counted three thousand taels.

“I do not understand,” he said. “I took the second sack of unwanted metal!”

“It is the will of Heaven,” said his mother. “We have to accept it. You have a simple mind, my son. I think Master Wen had two sacks of money and he gave one to you. It was very generous of him. With this money, we can get a new house in a better neighborhood. And then, I will buy you a wife! She will bear you children so that our lineage will not have to end with you. Finally, my dreams for you are going to see the light!”

“Master Wen is indeed too kind to us,” said her son. “Once I am better, I will go to Li-Khor prison to pay back the salary advance that I took from them. Then I will resign from my position. After that, I will find a new job.”

His mother nodded in agreement.

+ + + + + +

The following morning, Wen Yiji and Shi Mei went out for a walk and then for some breakfast. They passed by a shop selling weaponry that appeared to have a wide variety of death dealing instruments. Wen Yiji went in and spotted a pile of bows. He went through them and was delighted to find the short bow that he was looking for.

“It is unusual for a shop to stock such a short bow,” he told the shopkeeper conversationally.

“I know,” came the reply. “But it is really powerful. My son studied marketing strategies and so he made it with the intention of selling it to midgets. He said that it was a niche market as no one seems to be making weapons for the shorties. He figured that that we could sell it for a high price.”

“Obviously you did not manage to sell it for a high price, or it would not be here anymore,” remarked Wen Yiji drily.

“You are right,” said the shopkeeper. “For the last two years, not a single midget has entered my shop!”

“You could spend the next twenty years waiting for the next midget. If the price is cheap, I will take it off your hands,” offered Wen Yiji. He pulled the bow experimentally. Instinctively, he knew that it would be a good bow. “How much?” he asked.

“Two taels,” answered the shopkeeper.

“One,” countered Wen Yiji.

“All right,” said the shopkeeper happily. “One it is.”

Wen Yiji bought some arrows and then he and Shi Mei left. He was eager to try out his new purchase.

While walking along the street, they were suddenly accosted by five men. Wen Yiji recognized them. They were Ah Long’s henchmen, the same men who had tried to tail him two nights before from the Casino Royal.

“Are you men going to stand there to block the way?” he asked.

“We want you to come with us,” said one of the henchmen.

“No, thank you,” replied Wen Yiji. “I am not free to entertain your request.”

“It is not a request,” said the same henchman. “This is an order.”

“Is that right?” asked Wen Yiji. “An what if I do not consider this an order?”

One of the men mad drew a finger across his throat and sneered menacingly, “Then we will bury you!”

Wen Yiji looked at them contemptuously and said, “I do not think that you will be daring enough to try anything funny in broad daylight! This is the Imperial City and you will certainly get into big trouble.”

“We can kill you, and then walk away without anyone here raising a sound,” boasted one of the men.

“You have better walk away while you still can,” advised Yiji raising a fist. “My fist is as big as your grandmother’s cooking pot. If I deliver one punch on your head, your brains will turn inside out and you will think that you are a monkey! A very injured monkey, but nevertheless a monkey.”

“I also have a fist!” snarled one of the men, raising his own fist.

“Wah piang,” noted Wen Yiji. “I raise fist…..you also raise fist. Monkey see, monkey do! I not yet hit you but you become monkey already!”

The men looked at each other. One of them said, “You talk big, but can you walk the talk?”

“Can a bird fly?” asked Wen Yiji.

“I am not talking about birds. I was asking a question!” said the man.

“I answered your question!” replied Wen Yiji. “You did not get it. “Can a bird fly?” is another way of saying, “Yes.” Your intelligence level is so low, how can you try to understand normal conversation? Now please move aside and let the more intelligent beings pass!”

“You do not appear to fear us. We outnumber you five to one, not counting the girl. Obviously you do not know how to count! Are you mentally weak?”

“Can a cow dance?” asked Wen Yiji.

There was a silence. After a while, one of the men was heard to say, “I think he means ‘No’!”

“Shut the fornicate up!” the other men shouted at him. “We can figure that for ourselves! If given enough time!”

One the henchmen rudely asked Wen Yiji, “You! What is your name? Who are you?”

“My name is Lin Peh,” answered Wen Yiji. “I am your father. Be more respectful when you talk to me!”

One of the men cursed and screamed, “If I do not beat you up, then my name is not See Pak Kai.” He rushed at Wen Yiji who met him with a foot planted in his balls. The man’s eyes rolled upwards and then he dropped to the ground clutching himself in agony between the legs.

Wen Yiji stared at the fallen man and then said, “Look at you…..your name is not See Pak Kai….it’s now Sei Pok Kai.”

Tuning to Shi Mei, he told her, “Move back twenty steps so that I have room to move! Quickly!”

Shi Mei was alarmed by the way things turned out. She sensed that a fight was coming. Quickly, she did what Wen Yiji told her and moved twenty steps behind him.

The remaining four men had by now drawn their swords. One of them said, “Let’s see how you deal with all four of us!”

“Easy!” retorted Wen Yiji. “I will just deal with you all one by one. You won’t be able to coordinate your attack well enough to attack me simultaneously.”

“That is where you are wrong!” snarled one of the men. “We will attack you from the north, south, east and west simultaneously! Just watch! You won’t have long to live! After that we will take the girl and sell her to a house of ill repute. She will become the star performer, drawing the crowds to her bed every night!”

Wen Yiji breathed hard and said with a icy quiet calm, “For a vulgar remark like that, you four will come to a horrible end!”

The four men smirked nastily and surrounded evenly him on four sides.

“We have you surrounded on all sides. There will be no escape,” laughed one of them. “You will find that we are well-known for being able to attack simultaneously! Blood will flow!”

“Oh yeah?” remarked Wen Yiji. “Let me tell you monkeys what….”

There was no time to finish the sentence. The four men held their swords in front of them and at some given silent signal that they only knew, they charged simultaneously from all four directions. There was no way to escape…….no way but upwards. Wen Yiji leapt up suddenly and the four swords did not pierce their target. The momentum of the four men carried them headlong towards each other and they met in the central spot where Yiji was previously standing. Their swords plunged into each other with fatal results.

Wen Yiji landed on the ground with lightness kungfu. He looked at the four of them stuck to each other’s swords. Then he walked around them and peered this way and that way while their lives ebbed away from them.

He stood aside and scratched his head before finally saying, “I don’t believe that I have seen a thing like this before! It takes great planning and simultaneous execution for this to happen! I don’t think anyone else could have done it except for you four! It must be some sort of national record, I think!”

Shi Mei ran towards Wen Yiji and said urgently, “Come on, let’s go! If soldiers appear, we may get arrested! Even if we are innocent, they will still give us a lot of trouble!”

“All right,” agreed Wen Yiji. He then looked at the first man on the ground who was still clutching his balls and writhing in pain.

As Shi Mei started to walk, Wen Yiji suddenly bent down to the writhing man and whispered to him, “Tell your boss, Ah Long, that I will come and kill him tonight!”

Then he walked away leaving the writhing man gasping in fear.

Chapter 17: The casino battle

The owner of the Casino Royal, Ah Long, was having tea with Whiteface when one of his fighters straggled in. Ah Long stared at him coldly before speaking.

“I asked the five of you to go and collect one simple bad debt for me this morning,” he scolded. “Now only you get back! It is almost evening! If like that, you may as well not come back!”

“Boss,” gasped the poor man. “Only I got back. The other four not coming back!”

“So,” reacted Ah Long angrily. “The other four went elsewhere, is it?”

“They went to Hell, boss!”

“Went to where?”

“Went to Hell!”

“Whatever for?”

The poor man was not quite sure how to answer the question. It had never occurred to him that one needed a valid reason to go to Hell. He looked blank momentarily. Finally, in bits and pieces, he blurted out the story about how he and the other four men had encountered the gambler whom they had tried unsuccessfully to follow two evenings before.

“I did not see what happened because he kicked my balls flat and I fell to the ground,” he told his boss. “But the next moment, all four of them were dead by their own swords! I do not know how he did it, but this man must be a ruthless killer. Highly skilled, I’m sure of that!”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” said Ah Long in a calm voice despite hearing the news that he had just lost four men. “Go and rub some tit tar ointment on your balls so that they can pop back out again! If not they will remain flat for a long, long time!”

“Yes boss,” said the man. “Uh.....before he left, the man who had kicked me also gave me a message.”

“What message?”

“He said to tell you that he will come and kill you tonight!”

“What?” roared Ah Long. “He has the audacity! In this town, only I can threaten people! Nobody threatens me!”

Whiteface, who was sitting quietly all this while, asked, “Who is this man who wants to kill you?”

“He was some lucky gambler who won some money from the casino,” explained Ah Long. “I sent some men to have it taken back. So now, he wants to kill me.”

“This is a reputable casino,” said Whiteface. “It is only right that gamblers are allowed to take their winnings home with them. You have to be fair.”

“Yes, I know. But he won six thousand taels!”

“What? That much? You were right to try to take back the money! If every gambler wins so much, then there is no point in opening a casino already! We should have a law that makes it legal for a gambler to lose but not to win.”

“My thoughts exactly! And now, not content with killing four of my men, that killer wants to kill me as well. This is the kind of sick behaviour that we do not want in society!”

“If the killer is coming tonight, do you need me to ask sifu, Master Chui La Pah, to send some disciples of the Green Scorpion Sect to help guard your premises?” offered Whiteface.

“Oh…….be serious……it’s only one shitty killer. No need to bother sifu!” replied Ah Long with a contemptuous laugh. “This killer must be an idiot if he thinks that I am easy meat. I did not build up this casino without knowing how to fight! Anyone stupid enough to confront me will taste the sharp edges of my twin choppers. Plenty plenty come also not enough to die!”

Whiteface examined Ah Long’s fierce countenance. The casino owner had been a member of the Green Scorpion Sect a long time and was known in the martial underworld as a very rough fighter. Whiteface knew that the Flute Master looked at Ah Long favourably and had taught him kungfu that was not taught to the other sect members. Maybe it was because Ah Long contributed quite well to the sect expenses. Nobody knew when Ah Long started using choppers as fighting weapons. They were custom-made, huge and heavy, and Ah Long used them effectively to chop up any fool rash enough not to pay his gambling debts.

“Still, it is best to take precautions, Ah Long,” advised Whiteface. “I will spend the night here in case you need my help if he comes tonight.”

“This killer could be bluffing,” said Ah Long. “This is not the first time that I have to face threats. I am not afraid! There have been lots of people wanting to kill me, but they have never succeeded. You know why? Because I have killed them all! Hehehe!”

“It never hurts to take some precautions,” remarked Whiteface. “It will be wise to set the booby traps in the casino. This man who wants to kill you may not sound that scary. But I am not afraid of ten thousand, only afraid of eleven thousand.”

“You are right,” said Ah Long. “Not afraid of ten thousand, only afraid of eleven thousand. Okay, I’ll take precautions.” He got up from his seat and barked orders to the men around him.

That night, when the casino gamblers have left, Ah Long examined the booby traps with Whiteface. He looked at the net suspended high up the ceiling.

“Any assassin has to pass through this small hall and the next hall to get to my room,” he remarked to Whiteface. “If he comes through here, the net will fall on him. While he is trapped under the net, our archers will shoot him until he is full of holes. I have disposed of many previous assassins in this manner. You should see their carcases…..all shot up and nowhere to go!”

“What if the net fails to get him?” asked Whiteface. “What if he cuts his way out of the net?”

“The net will entangle him and slow him down. He can get free if given enough time. But my archers will get him long before he is free.”

“But if he manages to get free?” persisted Whiteface.

“In that case, the assassin will reach the next hall,” answered Ah Long. “There, the floor will give way like a trapdoor and he will fall down deep into the pit below onto rows of sharp spears pointing upwards! Sure die! And even if he manages to evade that, then he will come to my room and I will kill him with my huge choppers. Also die!”

“Good!” remarked Whiteface. The men retreated to their hiding places. They would wait all night for the assassin.

+ + + + + +

In the stable of his house, Wen Yiji was showing Shi Mei a pot of wine.

He said with anticipation, “It has been many years since I last bought this wine. Luckily the shop was still open when we passed it just now. I used to drink this stuff with the members of my Imperial Guard unit. Those were such good times we had. They are dead now.”

“I am sorry about the members of your Imperial Guard unit,” said Shi Mei.

“They have been dead a long time now,” said Wen Yiji. “Instead of just being sorry for them, you can drink with me on their behalf!”

Shi Mei laughed. they raised their drinking bowls and drank.

+ + + + + +

At the Casino Royal, a noise suddenly shattered the stillness of the night.

“The trap has been sprung!” shouted a young fighter.

The archers opened the side doors of the hall immediately and aimed their arrows. From the light of their flaming torches, they stared at the hapless victim trapped under the net.

One of the man started cursing, “Stupid cat tripped the booby trap!”

A brown cat was in the middle of the little hall under the heavy net.

Ah Long appeared. He stared angrily at the offending creature and then ordered, “Lift the net! Reset the trap! And somebody strangle that cat!”

The moment the net was lifted, the cat tried to escape. One of the men caught hold of it, but it scratched him and then made a bid for freedom. It fled to the next hall. There was another noise as the brown cat sprang the floor’s booby trap. The floor opened up and the cat fell through to the pit below. The men rushed to the door second hall to take a look. A huge pit appeared where the floor had been. They looked down into the pit and saw the cat impaled by a spear.

“Stupid cat sprang two traps in one night!” scolded one of the men. “Now, we have to remove its body!”

“Take out its carcass and bury it!” barked Ah Long.

Whiteface came into the hall sleepily. He yawned and then said, “I can’t sleep with all this noise going on! Did you catch the assassin?”

“No,” replied Ah Long. “False alarm!”

After setting back the booby traps, the men then settled down to wait for the assassin again.

+ + + + + +

At late morning the next day, a very sleepy Ah Long greeted Whiteface.

“Stupid cats!” muttered Ah Long. “I can’t believe that we had eight false alarms last night!”

“You should get rid of all the cats, Ah Long,” commented Whiteface.

“If I do, we’ll have a major rat problem,” muttered Ah Long.

“Well, you lost a few cats last night,” remarked Whiteface. “If this goes on, you will have no cats left.”

“I found out that the cats were coming into the hall through the rafters in the roof,” explained Ah Long. “I will have my men board up all available entry points so that the cat cannot enter the hall except through the door. Then I will keep the door closed. If the trap is sprung, then it can only be by an intruder.”

“Very good!” agreed Whiteface. “That way, we won’t have our sleep interrupted for nothing.”

One of the casino workers brought in a vagrant who was bearing a piece of paper. He told his boss, “This vagrant says that some man paid him to deliver a letter to you.”

Ah Long looked at the vagrant sharply. “Take the letter from him and give it to me,” he ordered his worker.

The worker did as was ordered and handed the letter to Ah Long who opened it.

The letter said, “Could not come last night. Totally forgot about it. Sorry. Will kill you tonight.”

“Shit!” shouted Ah Long. “After all our trouble with the booby traps, this man now says that he forgot to come. That rotting piece of wood is jerking me around!”

Whiteface took the letter from him and read it. He thought for a while before commenting, “So this is his game! He wants you to stay awake at night waiting for him!”

“Yes!” agreed Ah Long. “Then tomorrow, he will send me another note with some silly excuse for not turning up! Ta ma de! He is trying to make me think that he will turn up when he has no intention of turning up!”

“And then when you think that he will not turn up, he will one night turn up!”

“This is a psychological game that he is playing!”

“And we must therefore, have a psychological defense!”

“Which is?”

“How the heck should I know?”

“Then we have lost the psychological game!”

“Wait! I’ve got it!”

“What?”

“We can refuse to accept the letter. Each time we get his letter, we will send it back unread. When he realizes that he is taking so much trouble to write a letter and then it does not get read, he will be psychologically frustrated!”

“Yes! Then we will win the psychological game!"

"And then we can also beat up the messenger!"

"I can understand not reading the letter, but why do we have to beat up the messenger?”

”It’s a psychological game! If we do not know why we have to beat up the messenger, then the killer also will not know! He will be deeply puzzled. And puzzlement leads to frustration!”

“Yes, of course, Whiteface! We are the masters of the psychological game!”

The poor vagrant was duly beaten up and then thrown out on the street.

+ + + + + +

That night, Wen Yiji remembered to go to the Casino Royal. He brought along just a dagger, presuming that what he was about to do would not be too difficult. Taking a deep breath, he leaped up into the air over the roof of the casino. He landed noiselessly on the roof of the main gambling hall and looked around. There was no sign of activity anywhere. He removed the acupuncture needle from his body and turned semi-invisible. Then slowly, he removed some roof tiles and made a hole large enough for him to get in. Once through the roof, he jumped and landed onto the floor of the gambling hall.

Crouching down among the gambling tables in a state of invisibility, he wondered if anyone had heard him. Carefully, he looked around. He did not spot anyone, not even a worker. The gambling hall was shrouded in darkness except for one small lighted torch along the wall.

Wen Yiji got up to a standing position and then headed for a red door that he assumed would lead to some kind of inner office. He had seen the croupiers going through the red door two days ago. He approached the door and pushed it. It swung open with a slight creak. Wen Yiji saw that the door had opened to a smaller hall which was practically empty. A small oil lamp affixed to the wall at one corner of the little hall shed some light. Softly, Wen yiji closed the door. At the opposite end of the empty hall was yet another door.

Stealthily, Wen Yiji walked across the empty hall toward the door at the other side. As he was halfway across the hall, he felt his leg brushed against something very light. The next moment, he heard a slight sound overhead. He looked up just in time to see a huge giant net falling down on him.

“A trap!” he thought furiously to himself. “Damn! I’ve fallen into a trap!”

He guessed correctly that the net was to entangle him and slow him down so that archers would find it easier to kill him. Immediately, he crouched down while he tried to think of how to get out of the situation.

The hidden doors of the side of the hall opened suddenly and many men with bow and arrows appeared. A few of them carried lighted torches.

Two men walked on the fallen net and peered in every direction. One of them aimed his bow and looked directly at Wen Yiji who was crouching and invisible from view. Wen Yiji felt very vulnerable at that moment. He would have prayed to a thousand gods if he knew a thousand gods.

“Did you see anything?” asked a voice.

“No!” replied another. “It must be one of those stupid cats again!”

“Well, I hope that the stupid cat goes to the next room and trigger the trap there.”

“If it does, it will fall into the pit through the trapdoor and get impaled by one of those spears.”

“Exactly! That is what I am hoping for!”

“Don’t be stupid. We will be the ones having to remove the cat’s carcass and bury it.”

“It is still better than having to sit here all night dealing with false alarms!”

Another voice spoke, “Quit arguing, you two. Help raise the net again!”

The men moved away and the net was raised up. Wen Yiji heaved a quiet sigh of relief. He duckwalked to the end of the hall as fast as he could. The door at the end of the hall opened and Ah Long appeared carrying two huge chopping knives.

Wen Yiji was surprised by the size of the weapons. They were huge, heavy looking and looked like they could chop up a buffalo easily.

“What happened here?” Ah Long demanded to know.

“The net trap was sprung,” answered one of the men. “We think it was the cat.”

“What cat?” yelled ah Long. “All our cats have been caged tonight! There could be one or two strays. But all entry points to this hall that could possibly be used by the cats have been boarded up! Did anyone leave the door open?”

The men stared at each other.

“Well?” demanded Ah Long.

“The door was closed all the time,” said one of the men.

“Something got in and triggered off the trap!” snorted Ah Long. “What was it?”

“There is nobody here except us, boss,” replied a voice. “No one else. Not even a cat! The only door that is open is the one that leads to your room!”

Ah Long turned and looked hard at the door from which he had just entered.

“If there was indeed an intruder, which I doubt, then the only place he could have gone is through that door!” whispered one of the men.

“That is impossible!” declared Ah Long. “I just came through that door. I would know if there was anybody in there!”

“Let me go and check, boss, just in case,” offered the man. “Has the floor booby trap been disengaged?”

“Yes,” replied Ah Long. “But I am telling you that there is no one there! I’m more inclined to think that you idiots have set the net trap wrongly!”

At that moment, Whiteface appeared. Wen Yiji thought that he looked familiar.

“I have seen this man before,” he thought to himself. “Could he be one of the two bowmen who was shooting at me while I was crossing the Yellow River? Maybe. That day on the boat, I wasn't close enough to get a good look.”

As Ah Long supervised his men setting up the net trap, Wen Yiji looked at the door to the second hall. It was opened and Ah Long had said that the floor booby trap had been disengaged. Quietly, Wen Yiji duckwalked through the door and entered the second hall. It was empty except for some paintings hanging along the wall. He wondered if the floor booby trap had really been inactivated. Looking at the hall, he noted that the ceiling was low and that it would be difficult to use lightness kungfu to cross the floor in one single leap. If the trapdoor was sprung, lightness kungfu would slow down the fall at best; the intruder would still fall onto the spears below and get killed. At the other end of the hall was the door to Ah Long’s room. It was opened and looked inviting, seducing him. Gingerly, Wen Yiji duckwalked his way through the second hall. On reaching the door of Ah Long’s room, Wen Yiji entered without hesitation.

The room was huge. Cupboards lined three sides of the room which was lit by several candles. He wondered what was in those cupboards. Probably money and valuables. There were tables and chairs everywherre. In the middle of the room, there was a table with several books and a pile of papers on it. Wen Yiji approached it to take a better look.

“Wa piang,” he murmured to himself. “These books are records of gambling debts! Interests accrued…..daily interest…..monthly interest……this man is getting rich just from interests alone!”

Then he examined the pile of papers. They were debt papers, or promissory notes. When a gambler lost money, and if he did not have enough cash on him, he would sign a debt paper promising to pay the amount another day with interest.

He leafed through the pile of debt papers and whistled quietly. "So many important officials owe money to this casino!" he noted.

Putting down the debt papers, he picked up a scap of paper where Ah Long had written something. He read, “To do list……Tan Ah Beng…..principle sum owed; ten taels of silver……interest owed; eight hundred taels……if unable to pay…..to break his legs first….if still unable to pay…..break the head.....both upper and lower.”

A sound at the door alerted him that someone was coming in. Ah Long entered, closed the door and then barred it with a thick length of wood. Then he reached out for a lever located by the side of the door and shifted the lever to the right.

“Must be the lever to activate the floor booby trap of the hall just outside,” guessed Wen Yiji silently to himself.

Ah Long walked to the table where he had been working. He had been planning the debt collecting activities for his men. He put his twin choppers down beside him and took up a brush.

Wen Yiji stood up from his crouching position. In his half-invisible status, he walked up and down the room, hoping to frighten the wits out of the casino owner.

Ah Long looked up, stared at the pair of legs walking about, and then barked, “What do you want?”

Wen Yiji was surprised. Unlike Yee Ng Chai, Ah Long did not seem to be frightened by a pair of legs without a body.

“You do not appear to be frightened of me,” Wen Yiji remarked.

“Of course not!” said Ah Long. “I see ghosts all the time. Headless ghosts, legless ghosts and whatever ghosts there are. This is the first time that I have seen a torsoless ghost. If you want joss sticks, they are burning out there in the main gambling hall. Go gorge yourself!”

“What makes you think that I want joss sticks?” asked Wen Yiji.

“You hungry ghosts always want joss sticks. If it is not that, then it is candles. Now go to the main gambling hall and leave me alone!”

“Are you really able to see ghosts?” asked Wen Yiji. “You are not afraid that they will harm you?”

“Harm me? Hahahahahaha! I wear the Golden Buddha amulet given to me by a very famous mao shan sifu! Any ghost that dares to touch me will get burnt up with hell fire! Now go away!”

“No,” said Wen Yiji. “I came here for information and I want it.”

“What information?” asked Ah Long.

“Seven years ago, you set up Yee Ng Chai to betray a unit of Imperial Guards for you. They were escorting a pair of valuable jade lions that was hijacked by the Sky Dragon Clan. You paid Yee Ng Chai five hundred taels of silver. Then he disappeared. How is it that you were not able to locate him?”

“Yee Ng Chai? Ah yes……I remember the case. It took some effort to set him up. But the affairs of ghosts and the affairs of humans do not mix. What is your interest in this?”

“I am on a fact finding mission to decide the manner by which he will die,” replied Wen Yiji.

“Ahhhh….so Hell is interested in him! Good! Make sure that he dies in a fitting manner.”

“Tell me about the whole affair starting for the point where you set him up, and how you knew that they were going to transport the jade lions.”

“There was a General Shin who was a gambler at my establishment. He ran up a huge gambling debt with me. In return, he would give me information if I forgave his debts.”

“And so you sold the information?”

“Yes. To interest groups who would like to enrich themselves by taking some risks.”

“You mean to criminal groups who would then rob the shipment. How did you get paid?”

“Usually by a portion of the spoils. But some times for a lump sum.”

“And so, you sold the information to the Sky Dragon Clan?”

“Yes. I found out which Imperial Guard unit would be handling the operation. I then found would that in the unit, Yee Ng Chai was the most vulnerable because of his sick wife. I then plotted a situation to have Yee Ng Chai owing me money. When he could not pay, I offered him a way out by forcing him to report the route that Chief Feng was going to take for the jade lion trip. He did his part very well.”

“You must have made a good profit from this.”

“Of course! I planned the whole thing right from the start. It is only right that I made some profit!”

“Why did you choose the Sky Dragon Clan to carry out the job? You could have done this yourself.”

“Yes, I could. But news about the jade lions had also spread to a few criminal gangs. They would be trying to hijack the goods from Chief Feng. The only way that I could get something out of this was to hijack the stuff first. That meant pulling off the operation in the Fujian province, a long distance from the Imperial Capital. Unfortunately, I did not have people there. So, I was forced to franchise out the operation to another group. The Sky Dragon Clan was active in Fujian. I have worked with them several times before and their payment to me had always been good. I came to an agreement with the Sky Dragon Clan and they successfully hijacked the shipment. Their chief, Cold Wind Hands, got injured critically. Too bad! However, he paid me the money that I had asked for.”

“Why then did you try to have Yee Ng Chai killed?”

“He was a loose end. If there was a serious investigation, he could lead the investigators to me. I could not afford to let him live. So, I had men watching his house. Unfortunately, he managed to get his family out in the middle of the night! Do you know where he is?”

“Of course.”

“Are you going to kill him?”

“No. His time is still not up. But yours is!”

“What?”

“The ox-head horse-face creatures will come to collect you after I am done with you!”

“Do not threaten me. I wear the Golden Buddha amulet. You can’t touch me! You will burn up if you do!”

“I will not burn up!”

“You try!” challenged Ah Long. “Try and see!”

“All right!” said Wen Yiji. “You asked for it. I will slap you so hard that your lips will shift sideways!”

“Slap me with what?” asked Ah Long looking at the torsoless figure. “With your twinkly toes?”

Wen Yiji then leaned over and gave a huge slap across the face of the casino owner.

Piaakk!

“You can slap!” stuttered Ah Long.

Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk!

“You did not burn up!” exclaimed the shocked Ah Long.

Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk! Piaakk!

“Ta ma de! You are no ghost!” cried Ah Long rubbing his cheeks. “What exactly are you?”

Wen Yiji pushed his acupuncture needle in his collar bone area and turned fully visible.

“My name is Wen Yiji,” he said. “I was an Imperial Guard of the unit assigned to guard the two jade lions. Over the years, I have been trying to figure out the mastermind behind the whole plot that had our shipment hijacked. Many of my close friends died because of you!”

“Why couldn’t I see the upper half of you jsut now?” asked Ah Long.

"That was because I was semi-invisible!” answered Wen Yiji.

“There is no such thing!” said Ah Long. “I once went over to the Eastern Islands and met with some ninjas. There were reputed to have the ability to become invisible. However, I learned that they actually held up a sheet of cloth with the same colour as the background. That way, they were so well camouflaged that it would give the illusion that they were invisible. It was only a cunning trick!”

“I was not holding up a cloth.”

“You think you can fool me? Of course you were! However, you, being a stupid fool, were holding up a piece of cloth that is only half as long as you should use! It was not big enough to hide your whole body, only your upper half!”

“If I was using a cloth, wouldn’t it make sense to buy enough cloth for my needs? Would I go to all that trouble to buy only half of what I needed?”

“Ahhh…maybe you did. But you bought inferior cloth. So one day it rained and the cloth got wet and shrank. That is why it is now so short. You buy cheap, you get cheap results. As the famous saying goes; one portion money, one portion stock!”

“I should explain to you the concept of light bending and stuff,” remarked Wen Yiji. “But I do not think that your tiny little brain can understand such advanced scientific concepts. Let’s not waste time. Get ready to die!”

Ah Long picked up his twin choppers and snarled, “It will be you who will die! Once I cut you up, you can join all your dead friends!”

Wen Yiji was carrying a long dagger. He unsheathed it and got ready to fight. Staring in anger at Ah Long, he said, “Today, I will take revenge for my comrades in my Imperial Guard unit. Hear this, Ah Long. You will die screaming!”

“Hear me, Wen Yiji. I will cut you into forty-eight pieces…..one for each slap you gave me just now!”

“I gave you thirteen slaps. You can’t even count properly!”

“I can count. Thirteen slaps plus interest is forty-eight!”

“What? Like that also got? That is plain robbery!”

“I do that as well!” cried Ah Long as he swung his twin chopping knives at where he thought Wen Yiji’s body was.. They were heavy weapons. A sharp chopper sliced the air in Wen Yiji’s direction and he attempted to block off the swinging stroke with his dagger. The heavy chopper smashed through the dagger, breaking it at the handle. Quickly, Wen Yiji ducked under the still swinging chopper. The blade of the dagger fell to the floor with a “clink”.

Both men stared at each other.

Then Ah Long guffawed, “You brought a puny weapon and expect to kill me? What do you take me for?”

“I don’t understand it,” exclaimed Wen Yiji. “I told the street vendor who sold it to me that I needed a weapon to kill a lowdown dirty worm. He recommended this!”

“Hahahahaha!” laughed Ah Long. “First you bought cheap cloth! Then you bought cheap weapons! When I kill you, the last thing you will hear will be me laughing!”

Wen Yiji took the opportunity to deliver a palm blast at Ah Long. To his astonishment, the casino owner deflected away the palm blast with the wide side of his heavy chopper.

"So," exclaimed Ah Long. "You can deliver a palm blast! You must have good internal energy! It is a good thing that I can deflect a palm blast!"

"You appear to have good internal energy too," remarked Wen Yiji. "You must have a good sifu in kungfu. Who is he?"

"That is none of your business!"

"Oh....all right.....if you are so ashamed of him, then you don't have to tell me. He must be really scum if you are so afraid of people finding out who he is!"

"He is not scum! He is Master Chui of the Green Scorpion Sect! Also known as the Flute Master!"

Wen Yiji froze. Finally, he muttered aloud, "The Flute Master. The one who carries two flutes. Earlier on, I saw you with a man whose face was almost white. Who was he?"

"Oh, you mean Whiteface?" asked Ah Long. "He is one of my sifu's disciples. But enough chit chat. Time to send you to the western sky!"

Sensing danger, Wen Yiji leapt aside. A dart flew past him from behind which almost hit his neck. As he turned to look at where the dart came from, another dart came from a different direction and would have hit him in the chest if he had not swerve away in time.

"Hahahahaha!" laughed ah Long. "This room is my sanctuary and I command a huge arsenal of darts that will shoot at you from every angle! I can trigger them from anywhere in this room! Now, watch!"

A volley of eight darts sudenly came from one of the bookshelves towards Wen Yiji. He leapt away from the volley only to find Ah Long's huge choppers swinging at him again. He had his hands full trying to avoid Ah Long's quick choppers as well as the darts that appeared out of nowhere at Ah Long's command. He only knew that Ah Long would hit a piece of furniture in the room and a dart would appear. He could take Ah Long on open ground, but in this room, Ah Long had the advantage. Several times, he almost lost his hand to the choppers as he was trying to deliver a Dark Fire Iron Palm. It was frustrating.

A volley of four darts sped towards Wen Yiji who jumped sideways just in time. Ah Long had anticipated the move and had positioned himself well. He slashed horizontally at Wen Yiji with the other chopper coming in from a diagonal swing. Wen Yiji knew that a dart will soon be coning from behind. While avoiding the choppers, he pulled out his acupuncture needle and leaped away. His world suddenly turned darker and he accidentally knocked into a piece of furniture and fell down.

"So, you have decided to use your cloth and become invisible, is it?" taunted Ah Long. "You will have a surprise coming. I happen to have a random dart system that shoots darts at random. Only I know the firing pattern. And only I will know where the next dart will head for, giving me the opportunity move aside to avoid it."

"If you know the dart firing pattern, then it is no more random!" noted Wen Yiji.

"Hahaha! It is random to everybody but to me!" gloated the casino owner. "The only way a random dart can get me is if I forget to move out of its path! Watch out! Here it comes!"

Wen Yiji tried to avoid the darts coming in his direction. It was a difficult task. In the state of invisibility, the room appeared much darker to him. It was therefore much more difficult to detect and avoid a small speeding dart.

"Urgnnnhhhh!" he cried as a dart came out of nowhere and buried itself into his left arm.

Ah Long heard his cry and leapt towards the sound, choppers flashing. Wen Yiji leapt away invisibly but while in midair, another random dart sliced the skin of his right calf but did not penetrate into the flesh. He continued moving silently, hoping for the best.

He swore to himself, "Palm blast cannot, Iron palm cannot, invisibility also cannot.......what can work?"

Poking himself in the collar bone area with the acupuncture needle, he became visible again. He was just in time to see a dart heading for his right eye. He shifted his head away in the nick of time but the projectile nicked his ear painfully.

He saw that he had landed next to the table where the pile of debt documents were. Quickly, he grabbed a handful of papers and held them over the candle flame at the table. The papers caught fire. He held the papers in the air and the flames grew bigger.

Ah Long, who was at the end of the room, turned around and looked in horror at what Wen Yiji had just done.

"My debt papers!" cried the casino owner. He rushed over quickly using a zigzag path to avoid the random darts. Wen Yiji let the flaming papers fall from his fingers onto the table as he moved away.

Ah Long reached the table and swung the flat side of a chopper towards the flaming papers to put out the fire.

At that moment, a dart sped across the room. Ah Long was not in its path. Wen Yiji sent a weak palm blast to the speeding dart and deflected it slightly. Just as Ah Long's chopper hit the flaming papers, the deflected dart hit Ah Long in the ribs. It penetrated three quarters of its length inside the body. The dart was barbed; which meant that it could not be readily pulled out. At that moment, Wen Yiji knew that the advantage had passed to him. He was not going to waste it.

The next random dart came from one of the cupboards. As it flew past Wen Yiji, he deflected it to the direction of Ah Long. Ah Long held up a chopper to block the dart, but Wen Yiji chose the moment to deliver a palm blast at him. Ah Long successfully deflected the palm blast with his other chopper. The effort caused the the dart in his ribs to move painfully and he winced in agony.

Wen Yiji wished that his left hand had been more useful, but the dart in his left arm meant that he could only use his right arm to fight. He pushed the dart in deeper until the barb appeared on the other side of his arm. Then grasping the barb with his good hand, he pulled out the dart from the other side of his arm.

"There!" he said to Ah Long, while avoiding a random volley of darts. "My dart is out! How is yours?"

Ah Long could only glare back in anger. Then he had to shift his position one step to the right just before a random dart sped past his left. Even with the pain in his ribs, he still remembered the firing pattern of the random dart system.

Another volley of darts flew across the room and Wen Yiji deflected them with a palm blast into Ah Long's direction.

Pammm! Pammm!

Ah Long blocked two of them qiuckly with the choppers. The other three missed him. The another dart headed for his balls. It wasn't a random dart but was the bloody dart that had been pushed out from Wen Yiji's left arm. Wen Yiji had thrown it viciously with raw power. Ah Long leapt up with legs apart and the dart past harmlessly below his balls. He landed on the floor again and the jolt caused the dart buried in his ribs to move. He stumbled awkwardly a step to the left due to the sudden intense pain. The next moment, a random dart hit him in the back. Ah Long had inadvertently moved into the path of a random dart.

Wen Yiji knew that Ah Long had been hit a second time; the facial expression said it all. The casino owner realized that the fight was lost and that he would have to escape. He stumbled wildly to the door. Wen Yiji attempted to move after him, keeping an eye out for the random flying darts. With a flick of a chopper, Ah Long lifted away the wood that barred the door. He shifted the lever beside the door to disengage the booby trap of the floor outside the room. Once out of the room, he planned to call his fighters to take care of Wen Yiji. Without wasting a moment, he moved out of the door.

Wen Yiji was bogged down by random darts that seemed to suddenly fly at him from all directions. He avoided those that he could and palm blasted away those that could not be avoided. He knew that Ah Long was getting away, but he was not able to catch up with his quarry. Twisting his body, he avoided a flying dart and picked up a stool at the same time. He threw the stool at the lever beside the door. It was a good throw; the lever was knocked into the engaged position and the floor trap outside became activated.

Ah Long was halfway across the hall when he felt the floor gave way under him. As he fell, he suddenly realized what had happened. He saw the sharp tips of the spears rushed up at him and he brought the flat sides of his choppers forcefully downwards onto the spear tips, in a desperate attempt to arrest his descent. The pain in his body told him that the spears had penetrated his lower body. His upper body was still above the level of the spears but his abdomen was already perforated. He screamed.

Wen Yiji reached the door, walked out through it and found himself standing on a ledge. He looked down into the pit of spears below him and detected Ah Long's body over the tips of the spears. The upper body appeared safe, but the lower body was already skewered.

"Didn't I say that you will die screaming?" Wen Yiji asked softly. "Body die, but head refused to die......that is not natural!"

He stepped back into the room, braving the random darts, and picked up the fallen stool by the door. Then he stepped out of the room again and took careful aim at Ah Long's body. He threw the stool.

Boing!

The stool hit the casino owner's upper body with a tremendous force and caused the body to jerk downwards. Three spears pushed through the chest and one spear penetrated the throat, cutting off the scream. All was quiet again.

The sounds of men moving noisily told Wen Yiji that the casino fighters were coming to investigate the screams. Carefully, he moved back into Ah Long's room. The random darts had stopped.

"The system must have run out of ammunition!" he guessed.

Quickly, he barred the door with the thick length of wood so that he would not be disturbed. Then he made a little bonfire from the debt papers. With a grin, he said, "Whoever you debtors are, I am freeing you from your debts!"

He piled whatever furniture he could find over the flaming pile. Then he looked at the ceiling and windows before muttering, "Probably booby trapped as well. I will go out through the wall."

He pushed away a row of shelves to reveal a wall behind it. Then he hit the wall with his iron palm technique which produced a gaping hole in the wall. Taking two lighted candles, he crawled through the hole and found himself in a little used storeroom.

"So much rubbish here. Since I have already started one fire, I may as well start another."

He piled some of the storeroom articles around the two flaming candles. Then he

leapt upwards through the roof. In the darkness of night, he made his way back to his place.

He would have gone straight to the stable where he normally slept, but Shi Mei called out to him. She was in the carriage and was still awake.

"You better let me take a look at your wounds, Brother Wen," she called out.

Wen Yiji was nonplussed. Even in the dark, she knew that he had been wounded. There was no alternative but to let her look at his wounds.

She dressed his wounded left arm carefully by candlelight and asked him, "How did you get injured like that?"

"Well," he answered. "I was walking here and there minding my own business when this dart came out of nowhere and penetrated my arm."

He thought that it was not appropriate for him to tell her that he went out to kill another man.

"It's only a flesh wound," she remarked. "Your leg is bleeding slightly. So is your ear. I don't think that you should go around courting trouble for the next few days."

"Oh, okay. Not for the next few days, then."

"Let me rephrase that. You should not go around courting trouble. Ever!"

"I do not go around courting trouble, Shi Mei!" he protested.

"What were you doing out so late at night?"

"I was walking here and there and minding my own business," he answered again.

Shi Mei looked like she did not believe him, but she kept silent, concentrating on patching up his wounds. When she had finished, he thanked her profusely.

Then, taking a pot of wine, he walked out among the graves of his family. Watching him from the carriage where she slept, Shi Mei suspected that a great issue had finally been laid to rest with Wen Yiji. She was glad for his sake.

Looking up at the night sky, Wen Yiji called out softly the name of each and every dead comrade from his former Imperial Guard unit.

"Dear comrades," he said. "It has been an honour for me to serve along with each and every one of you. As men, we serve and as men, we die. You may have fallen, but you have not been forgotten. This night, I drink to you! For this is the night that your deaths have been avenged!"

He tilted the pot of wine to his lips and drank deeply straight from the pot.

Chapter 18: The end of a warden

The sun was high in the sky when Wen Yiji got up. He shaded his eyes as he walked out of the stable in his needle-assisted visible self.

“The sun has risen up in the sky much earlier than usual,” he noted aloud. “I wonder if this heralds a climatic change.”

“It is not the sun that is early, but you who are late,” said Shi Mei from nearby. “How does your left arm feel this morning?”

“It feels all right, like nothing happened to it.”

“You mean to say it still hurts.”

“Well, all right, it hurts a bit. But only just a bit.”

“Your medicine is ready,” she informed him. “I boiled it early this morning. It seems that ever since I reached the Imperial City, I have been boiling medicine for you non-stop!”

“Yes, I know,” admitted Wen Yiji. “It is embarrassing isn’t it?”

Shi Mei laughed and said, “I suspect that you are too thick-skinned to be actually embarrassed.”

“What makes you think that I am thick-skinned?”

“You walk around without wearing underwear,” she replied simply.

He looked down and saw that he was sporting a morning erection. The front of his trousers poked out stiffly like a tent. Shi Mei had that sort of effect on him. Damn! He should remember to keep things under control. He made a mental note to himself that he should in fact put on two pairs of underwear.

“Sorry,” he grinned in embarrassment.

She looked him straight in the eye and said, “Now drink your medicine!”

His gaze fell on the graves of his two dead younger brothers and he felt a tinge of guilt for having the hots for his intended sister-in-law. If circumstances had been different, he would perhaps be busy humping her already. The thought made him smile lasciviously. His eyes fell on his brothers’ graves again and once more, he felt a sense of guilt.

”When do you intend to take out the bones of your departed parents, brother Wen?” Shi Mei asked.

“When I can get a priest to conduct the religious rites,” he answered. “I must have visited at least ten temples, and all of them said that they do not conduct rites for things like this. Bunch of idiots! Not only that, I can tell that they were not pleased with the idea of digging up the remains of dead people.”

“It is not a usually done thing. You will have to search until you can find a priest willing to do the job.”

“That is what I thought. I will go out this afternoon to look again.”

“But your left arm is still injured!”

“It’s just a scratch. I hope to get this over with as fast a possible so that we can start the journey earlier. Otherwise it will be winter by the time we reach Tsinkiang.”

“All right. I fried some rice this morning. Are you hungry?”

“Forget the fried rice,” he said. “I will take you out to eat. Then I will leave you here to write your book on home remedies while I go to hunt for a priest.”

“It is not a book on home remedies. It is a serious medical book.”

“Whatever. Let me take you to a place where they sell a very good frog legs porridge with salted egg. When eaten with deep fried crullers, it is so good that it is guaranteed to cure everything!”

“This, I gotta see!” she smiled.

Wen Yiji quickly went to put on two pairs of underwear and then they went out.

+ + + + + +

In the afternoon, Wen Yiji trudged gloomily through town. He had already been to two temples and was turned down when he requested religious rites for digging up the bones of his family. His mood was sour when he passed a third temple. It was quite a big temple but it did not look popular. Street vendors would normally be around, hassling the worshippers at every temple, but for this particular temple, there was not a single vendor to be seen.

He looked at the signboard. The sign said “San Feng Temple”.

Wen Yiji entered. He found that there were only two groups of worshippers inside. Not a single monk or priest was around. He went to the front near the altar and sat down on the floor. He was tired. The nagging pain in his left arm was not helping any. He closed his eyes and waited patiently in the temple for some one to appear. Someone did. A young temple boy came in and announced rudely, “You will all have to leave now. Royal Concubine Lin is coming here to pray. Please take your things and leave immediately. And I mean immediately!”

Wen Yiji thought, “Very big meh, royal concubine? Make everybody leave just for her? Ridiculous!”

The other worshippers started packing up their candles and joss sticks. Wen Yiji was loathed to leave. He moved behind the altar and pulled out the needle in his collar bone area and turned invisible.

Soldiers came into the temple and chased away the remaining worshippers. Then, Royal Concubine Lin entered.

“Has everybody left?” she asked the captain of her guards.

“Yes,” came the reply. “There is no one here now.”

“Good!” said the royal concubine. “I wish to pray alone. See that I am not disturbed!”

The captain and his soldiers left the room and closed the door of the temple. Royal Concubine Lin barred it from inside.

From his position, Wen Yiji observed the concubine and noted, “Wow! Quite voluptuous, this concubine!”

The wall next to Wen Yiji suddenly moved. A hidden door swung open and a man stepped out.

“Prince Jin!” noted Wen Yiji silently in surprise. “What on earth is he doing here?”

Wen Yiji had worked long enough as an Imperial Guard previously to be able to recognize the prince easily. Prince Jin strode towards the royal concubine and greeted her. The two of them smiled at each other.

“Ahhh…….an interlude of lovers, I bet!” gasped Wen Yiji silently. “Damn! The Emperor’s concubine and the Emperor’s brother! I shouldn’t be seeing this! My morals can’t stand the shock!”

He looked into the hidden room. It appeared huge. He duckwalked inside without hesitation.

There was a huge bed in the middle of the room and a standing screen used for changing clothes in the corner. He was about to stand up and walk when he heard the sounds of Prince Jin and the concubine entering the room. Knowing that his invisibility was not perfect during the day, he quickly moved behind the screen.

Prince Jin and Royal Concubine Lin entered and closed the room door.

The concubine was saying, “The stupid Eunuch Kong insulted me! He imputed that I did not know a single thing about music! How dare he!”

“He refused to cooperate?” asked the prince.

“Yes,” she answered. “He refused to allow a musician of my choosing to play in the music recitals in the Summer Palace. He claimed that only he knows what the Emperor likes to hear and so all the musicians had to be carefully selected by him!”

“Looks like we will have to get Chui La Pah in by another manner!” said the prince. “We will have no choice but to get rid of that stupid eunuch.”

“Make sure that he dies painfully.”

“Of course!”

“He has a list of musicians on him. Take the list from him. Then we will add another name to the list, that of Master Chui La Pah. That way, the Flute Master will get to play his flute in front of the Emperor during the music recitals in the Summer Palace in Shibai.”

“Consider it done already,” said Prince Jin. “Eunuch Kong’s days are numbered.”

Wen Yiji was shocked to hear that those two were planning to have the Flute Master play his flute in front of the Emperor. That could well kill off the Emperor as well as the Royal family.

“When will the Emperor leave for Shibai?” asked Prince Jin.

“It can be as early as tomorrow,” answered the concubine. “The Emperor initially wanted to wait for the Fifth Prince before taking the trip. However, there is no news regarding his fifth son. He is getting worried that something bad might have befallen the Fifth Prince. But the trip to Shibai had been planned a long time ago in advance and it is already late summer. The trip cannot be put off forever. So I guess we will have to start the journey very soon. If not tomorrow, then the next day.”

“It is indeed strange. The Fifth Prince seems to have completely disappeared,” noted Prince Jin. “Ever since he escaped from my foreign assassins in the Fujian Province, he has vanished from the face of the earth. None of my network of spies can locate him!”

Wen Yiji smirked when he heard the conversation. So, it was Prince Jin who hired the Kansai Killers to kill the Fifth Prince! At a cost of four thousand and two hundred taels of silver!

Concubine Lin was speaking again, “I am sorry to hear about the fire in the Casino Royal. I know that you frequented the place.”

“Yes…….the fire,” said the prince with a scowl. “It was all very strange. The owner, Ah Long, apparently fell into one of his own booby traps and was killed. His men pulled his dead body out and took him outside to the main hall. They were not aware that there was a fire until they smelled a lot of smoke. By then the fire was very huge. The men managed to control the fire with water but by then half of the casino had already been destroyed.”

“It is strange that the owner fell into his own trap,” she remarked. “That was careless! And very stupid!”

“Let us not talk about him,” said Prince Jin as his hands cupped her front. “It is time to take off your clothes!”

Quickly they undressed each other, not suspecting that Wen Yiji was there behind the screen peeping at them. He was surprised to see the size of her pendulous breasts.

“Wa piang!” he whispered to himself. “This concubine is stacked! Those breasts must have enough milk for quadruplets!”

The naked Prince Jin pulled the royal concubine down to the bed and then started mauling her tits mercilessly.

“Wa piang!” said Wen Yiji to himself. “There is so much to hold. I think that foreplay will take a long time because there is so much surface area to cover!”

The couple on the bed changed positions and the concubine got on top. In doing so, her left tit accidentally bashed the prince on the head.

“Wa piang!” noted Wen Yiji to himself. “I bet the prince almost lost consciousness there! He must have a hard skull!”

The couple wrestled a bit on the bed and then the prince positioned himself properly before entering her. Flailing energetically at her naked body, he huffed and he puffed noisily.

“Uh….ah…..uh……ah…..uh……ah……uh……ah……uh……ah…….”

Halfway, the stupid thing slipped out.

“Ooooooooops! Fed up!”

But he put it back in and continued rocking again.

“Uh….ah…..uh……ah…..uh……ah……uh……ah……uh……ah…….”

She faked an orgasm.

“Arrrrhhhh……huh huh huh……. arrrrhhhh……huh huh huh……. arrrrhhhh……!!!”

He came.

“Urrrgggnnnnnhhhhh!”

In exhaustion, he collapsed on top of her.

"Plonk!"

Then he rolled over and promptly went to sleep.

“Zzzzzzzzzzzz…….skyyyynnnnnnzzzz………zzzzzzzzzzzz………”

The royal concubine got up and dressed quietly. She turned to talk to Prince Jin but he was already snoring. She left the room and pulled the door shut behind her. After a long moment, Wen Yiji opened the door quietly and duckwalked out as Prince Jin slumbered on. Concubine Lin and her guards had already left the temple. Wen Yiji decided to leave as well.

+ + + + + +

It was mid-afternoon when Wen Yiji got back to his house. He was feeling frustrated. There did not appear to be any priest willing to conduct the ceremony for him to dig up the skeletal remains from the graves of his family. Dejectedly, he told Shi Mei about his fruitless efforts.

“Never mind,” she consoled him. “If you are not able to get the priest, then maybe you should consider digging up the bones without a ceremony. Just pick a good date according to the tong shu calendar. I have already sewn the jute bags to contain the bones. Perhaps you should stop visiting all the temples if they are not helpful.”

“You are right,” concurred Wen Yiji. “I have learned nothing from the temples except that somebody wants to kill our Emperor.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Of course, I am sure!”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing. It is none our business.”

A long time ago, he would have given up his life for his emperor. But not now. Not ever. He was no more an Imperial Guard.

“But the emperor will get killed!” exclaimed Shi Mei.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I am sure that we can get someone to replace him! We won’t be left Emperorless for long.”

“That is a relief to know, I'm sure.”

“My former cellmate, Amos, once told me that it was not necessary for a country to have an emperor.”

“No emperor?”

“Yes. He called it a ‘democracy’ or something similar. Everybody gets to choose who rules over them.”

“That is a radical idea. Your former cellmate must have been an extremist.”

“An extremist? Hahaha! He was more like a busybody. His mouth was like a chicken backside. Got shit, no shit, also open and close. All day long.”

Shi Mei smiled and asked him, “Would you like to have some early afternoon tea? I can boil some water.”

“No” he replied. “I would rather that you teach me the Way of the Water Spider technique.”

“You wish to learn?”

“Of course. You have been practicing for many days now. You should be good enough to teach me.”

“All right,” she said.

Shi Mei was not a very good teacher. She had to stop every now and then to ponder her moves. At times, she was not sure of herself and had to go over her steps again and again. Wen Yiji allowed her to work out her steps until she was sure. In the end, she only managed to teach him two steps. But it was a start.

While they rested, Shi Mei sighed, “Brother Wen, your kungfu is so much higher than mine. Why do you wish to learn the Way of the Water Spider technique?”

“So that you will have the opportunity to teach,” he replied.

“Meaning?”

“It is in the giving that we receive. It is in the teaching that we learn. If you wish to improve phenomenally in any skill, you have to remember the first Golden Rule.”

“Which is?”

“The fastest way to learn is to teach.”

Shi Mei understood. While trying to teach Wen Yiji her water spider movements, she felt herself understanding her moves thoroughly.

“I wish to learn lightness kungfu,” she said. “Maybe I can teach you that so that I can also learn it.”

“No, you can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the Second Golden Rule; you can only teach that which you know. You can’t teach what you do not know.”

“You are right! What on earth was I thinking? Maybe I can teach you about herbal medicine preparation. Then, as I teach you, I will also improve.”

“No, you can’t teach me that.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the Third Golden Rule; you can only teach what the student wants to learn.”

“It is alright. I will just apply the Fourth Golden Rule.”

“Huh?” asked a nonplussed Wen Yiji. “What does the Fourth Golden Rule say?”

“It says that the student will learn anything that I want him to learn if I hold a really thick cane in my hand!”

“That will not work with me because of the Fifth Golden Rule.”

“All right, what does the Fifth Golden Rule say?”

“I don’t know yet,” answered Wen Yiji slowly. “But I will think of something!”

Shi Mei threw back her head and laughed. He liked her laughter. The fact that she was twelve years younger than him had not stopped both of them from chatting nonsensically like old friends.

A knock at the front gate told them that somebody was out there. Shi Mei went to investigate and saw a monk standing outside with a begging bowl in hand.

“Wait a moment, master,” said Shi Mei. “I have some fried rice to spare.”

She fetched the fried rice from her pot. Wen Yiji followed her to the front gate and watched her pour the fried rice into the begging bowl. The monk thanked her. As he turned to leave, she requested, "Please wait a moment, master. I have something to ask of you."

"What is it, child?" the monk inquired.

"The buried remains of the family members of this house need to be dug up and re-interred," she replied. "We are looking for someone to conduct the rites to calm the dead while their bones are being dug up. Do you know of anyone willing to perform such rites?"

"Sure," he said. "I can perform it."

"Oh, good!" she beamed. "What is the charge for this service?"

"There is no charge. I am a monk and so I have no use for money."

"Say," said Wen Yiji. "Didn't I see you in Tsinkiang early this year?"

"Possibly," remarked the monk. "I go to where the winds take me. When do you wish the rites to be conducted."

"Today is a good day according to the tong shu," replied Wen Yiji. "Let us do it now."

The monk conducted the ceremony and then Wen Yiji started digging up his parents graves. He did not have time to finish digging all of the graves by nightfall. The next morning, he completed the job. The bones of each dead body were bagged in a cotton bag and then packed into a jute sack.

When the job was completed, Wen Yiji told Shi Mei that he would like to visit the graves of her parents and pay his respects. Shi Mei was happy with his decision. He plotted a route southwards which would take him to the town where her parents were buried. Then they started making preparations for the long journey. She was happy to have the opportunity to visit her father's grave again.

Two days later, they started their journey to the south. It was already late summer and Wen Yiji fervently hoped that he could reach Tsinkiang by late autumn.

+ + + + + +

On the day that Wen Yiji and Zheng Shi Mei left the Imperial capital, Ah Keong walked to the Li-Khor prison where he worked. He was feeling pleased with himself. He had bought a house in a decent neighborhood with part of the money that Wen Yiji had given him. His injuries had healed well. It had been half a month since he was beaten up by the warden. Although he was not very happy to go back to Li-Khor prison, he nevertheless wished to settle his financial accounts with the prison authorities once and for all.

At the prison, some of the jailors were surprised to see Ah Keong there.

“You can’t be here!” said the jailor Ah Chong. “The warden has already sacked you in your absence! He said that he did not wish to see you working here again!”

“Sacked me!” cried Ah Keong. “But I came here to tender my resignation!”

“No need to resign……sacked means sacked!”

“Where is the warden?”

“I don’t know. He disappeared nine days ago and we have not seen him since. Maybe he went to offer prayers in some temple after the ghost slapped him.”

“What ghost? What temple?” asked Ah Keong.

“Hush!” piped up another jailor. “We should not talk about the unseen ones here! Anyway, now that you have been sacked, you should not be here, Ah Keong. Go find a job somewhere else.”

“I remember that I took an advance on my salary last time,” said Ah Keong. “Now that I have been sacked, does that mean that I do not have to return the money?”

“No! No! No!” said Ah Chong. “That one, must return!”

The other jailors nodded in agreement. The prison bookkeeper immediately took out his books and worked out the amount that Ah Keong owed. Without hesitation, Ah Keong paid back the money.

“All right,” said the jailor Ah Chong. “Now that you have settled all outstanding matters, you can leave!”

“I must still pass on my duties to the young jailor who worked with me in the old wing,” remarked Ah Keong. “I have to tell him what to do, what not to do, the most efficient way of doing things, how to plan the day’s activities in advance, how to…..”

“No, no, no!” interrupted Ah Chong. “You are no more an employee of the prison. How we do things does not concern you now. Understand?”

“But I have to……”

“Hey, hey, hey!” shouted Ah Chong. “The rules from Warden Sai are very clear! If you are not an employee here, then the affairs of the prison does not concern you! Do not be a busybody! You want to get another beating?”

“No!” replied Ah Keong. “I still have some of my stuff here. Can I go and clear them up before leaving?”

“Of course!” replied Ah Chong. “You should clear up your rubbish before you go. Don’t leave it around for others to clear it for you. Be more considerate for others!”

Ah Keong went to the old wing of the prison and spotted his partner, a young jailor called Lazy Snake.

“Hi, Ah Keong!” the young jailor greeted. “I thought you died already!”

“Didn’t see you for so many days…..is that how you greet me?” laughed Ah Keong. “I came to collect my stuff.”

“Oh……your stuff? I heard that the warden sacked you! I thought that you were not coming back, so I threw them away. Sorry!”

"You threw away my stack of dirty humsap books?"

"Oh that one I kept for my own use. You want them back?"

“Yes."

"I uh....got them wet by accident."

"How wet?"

"Gluey wet. You still want them back?"

"Damn it, no! I will be leaving now. You will have to cope without me."

“Ever since you did not turn up for work, I have to deliver the food for the prisoners all by myself. This is too much!”

“Yes. They should have hired a new jailor to take over my duties.”

“Some men came for an interview. But Warden Sai was not around. He has disappeared to don’t-know-where. So, in the meantime, I have to do everything all by myself! Life is not fair!”

“A little work will not harm you, Lazy Snake!”

“Easy for you to say! But now that you are here, you can help me distribute the food to the prisoners.”

“Wait a moment! I don’t work here anymore, remember?” reminded Ah Keong.

“But you can help a friend, can’t you? My backbone is giving me problems and I am afraid that if I have to carry all these food to the prisoners all by myself, my backbone will snap from the load. I don’t see why we should feed the prisoners. They don’t survive very long here anyway. We may as well take a shortcut and kill all of them first and save on the food. Save work also.”

“You always were lazy, Lazy Snake!” laughed Ah Keong. “All right. I’ll help you this once.”

“Oh, thank you! The numbers are almost the same as the last time,” said Lazy Snake. “One prisoner died five days ago. There was a new addition in the last cell. A monk.”

“A monk?” asked Ah Keong in surprise. “What was his crime?”

“Praying to the wrong gods, probably,” guffawed Lazy Snake. "He suffers from delusions of grandeur. Pretending to be somebody that he is not! I try to ignore him."

Cell by cell, Ah Keong helped to distribute the food. Seeing that Ah Keong was there to help, Lazy Snake worked slowly and took the opportunity to relax.

Ah Keong came to the last cell where the Luan Luan Kan Gang members were waiting impatiently. He noted the naked bald man trembling spasmodically in the cell and knew the signs; the prisoner would not survive for long. He pushed the food trays into the cell and the Luan Luan Kan Gang members grabbed the food and water away, leaving none for the bald prisoner who was lying near the door. Ah Keong watched them eating like wild animals at the back of the cell. He knew that they would all die anyway.

As Ah Keong turned to walk away, the bald prisoner on the floor called out to him in a weak gasping voice, “Keong……Keong…..”

Ah Keong squatted down to take a good look at the prisoner whom he had never seen before. The prisoner was clearly starving and dehydrated. He looked at the scars on the naked body. Some of the scars were old, but there were many new scars.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I…..am….warden……..help…..” the warden cried faintly.

“You are not the warden,” said Ah Keong. “You have no hair, your face is smashed in…..you look nothing like him! You don’t even sound like him. He talks like an ogre. You sound like a dying cat!”

“Get……Ah……Ah…….Chong……” whispered the bald man with an effort. “I……am…….dy…….ing…….”

“That is your business,” said Ah Keong. “I am not an employee here anymore. The rules from Warden Sai are very clear! If I am not an employee here, then the affairs of the prison do not concern me! If you want, you can talk to the other jailor!”

Ah Keong got up to walk away. Warden Sai tried to shout for attention, but he was too weakened by lack of food and water to make even a croaking sound. He tried to get up but collapsed from the effort.

Lazy Snake approached Ah Keong and said, “I hate coming to this end section. That’s because that ugly bald creature refuses to wear clothes.”

“Are you sure?” asked Ah Keong. “Maybe the other prisoners took away his clothes!”

“No, no, no! The other prisoners assured me that this idiot goes about naked because he is sex-crazy and wants to seduce me! Eeeeeeyewwww! Every time I see him, I feel like washing my eyes! Luckily the light here is not very good, so I am unable to look at him clearly. Otherwise I will have nightmares!”

“Who put him here?”

“Dunno. The jailors from the night shift, I guess. He was here one morning when I turned up for my shift duty. His name is not on my list, but you know that in this prison, we only update the prisoner list once a year to see who lived and who died. ”

“He looks weak, very weak. Like he is almost about to die.”

“I know,” grinned Lazy Snake. “I do not think this poor bastard will make it through another day. Isn’t that great?”

“It is none of my business,” remarked Ah Keong. “I do not work here anymore.”

As the two men walked away, Warden Sai sobbed feebly in depression. The other prisoners then crowded around him to offer him words of comfort. But he knew what it would soon lead too. However, he was too weak to fight them off.

As Ah Keong walked home, he thought about the bald naked prisoner. The face had been pummeled and bloodied beyond recognition. However, Ah Keong had recognized two peculiarly shaped scars on the naked prisoner to know that it was indeed the warden. He did not know who had thrown the warden in the cell and he did not particularly care. A grin formed on his face and then he laughed aloud to no one in particular, “It’s none of my business, of course!”

That afternoon, Warden Sai died in the unsolicited company of his cellmates. The Luan Luan Kan Gang members did not realize that the warden had died. They thought that he was merely being unresponsive, and so they continued plying their attention on him. Eventually, the body turned cold and the truth dawned on them. Then they yelled for the jailor, Lazy Snake, who as usual, ignored their yells.

Chapter 19: The Pool of the Devil fish

They had been travelling for several days. The rains came intermittently but the roads were usable. Wen Yiji was glad for the company of Shi Mei. She did not seem fazed by the sacks and sacks of human bones in the carriage. Many girls would have felt squeamish, but not Shi Mei. Maybe it was her medical upbringing that made the difference.

News of massive flooding in the plains of the Yellow River reached them and so they changed their route.

“We won’t be able to cross the Yellow River at Chingnan like we did last time,” said Wen Yiji to Shi Mei. “The floods in the plains have made the route impassable. We will have to cross the river further upstream.”

“How much further upstream?” she asked.

“Let’s see,” he thought aloud. “We can make our way to Shibai, then swing south towards Liangshan and cross the Yellow River there. Hopefully, the route is clear.”

“Have you taken that route before?”

“Yes, I have been to Shibai several times. I like Shibai. The people there are very clean. If we are in time, we may even get to catch the annual 'Maidens washing their Shibai' festival.”

“What kind of festival is it?”

“I can’t explain. You’ve got to see it to believe it.”

“Shibai…….I’ve never been there. Strange name for a town,” she remarked.

“Shibai is not named after a part of the female human anatomy if you are wondering about that,” Wen Yiji informed her seriously.

“I know that!” said Shi Mei indignantly. “I just don’t know how it got its name! It must have something to do with ten white something or other.”

“Ten white beasts,” offered Wen Yiji. “In the ancient days, there were ten white giant beasts that roamed the land there. The people did not know what to call the beasts, so they just called them shi bai, or ten white. They were terrible creatures and were fond of eating humans. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor took up his bow and arrow and stalked the ten white creatures. One by one he killed the creatures. The strange thing was that with each creature he killed, the remaining ones grew in size. It was as if each dead beast transferred its powers to the remaining beasts. Finally, there were only two of the beasts left. They charged at the Yellow Emperor who leaped up high and threw his long metal spear into the neck of one of the beasts, thus killing it. Immediately, the last remaining beast doubled in size.”

“The last beast must be really huge!” remarked Shi Mei.

“It was bigger than a large mansion!” said Wen Yiji. “It kicked the shit out of the Yellow Emperor. In desperation, the Yellow Emperor took out a small jewelry box given to him by the Goddess of No Mercy. This box could not be opened in the normal way. On the top of the box was written “In times of emergency, break box.” So he broke the box.”

"Why?"

"It was obviously an emergency."

“Oh, okay. What was inside the box?”

“In it was a small dart with a note that said, “Don’t ask any questions. Just throw the dart.” He was dumbfounded. He stared at the tiny dart and wondered how he could kill the last of the Ten Whites with such a tiny weapon. Luckily, there was another note.”

“What did the second note say?”

“He read the second note which said, “What are you waiting for? Just throw the dart!” So he threw the dart!”

“Did it hit the white beast?”

“Well…..no. He thought it meant to throw the dart away. It dropped down uselessly to the ground. The white beast was bearing down on him and so he had to run! He was at a loss at what to do next. Fortunately for him, there was a third note in the box.”

“Oh, what did the third note say?”

“It said, “Throw the dart at the beast, stupid!” So he ran back and picked up the dart and threw it at the giant white beast.”

“Did it work this time?”

“Of course! The weapon was from Heaven! It hit the beast in the chest and burrowed itself inside. Once inside the chest, it flew around at top speed, perforating the organs and causing massive internal injuries. The beast roared in pain. It stumbled away trying to escape. It then fled to a pool and tried to drink. But it vomited blood into the water which turned red. It was said that whoever drank that water would grow huge. The fishes in the pool started growing.”

“Did the beast die?”

“Not immediately. The Yellow Emperor approached the dying beast and tried to cut off the head. However, with a giant effort, the beast leapt into the air and disappeared over the trees. The Emperor tried to track it down, but to no avail. It must have gone to some secret location in order to die.”

“Maybe the last beast did not die.”

“Oh, it died alright,” said Wen Yiji confidently. “The dart was a weapon from the Goddess of No Mercy and it would definitely kill. They just could not find the dead body. For years, people search the land for any sign of the huge dead carcass. They believed that the remains of the last beast had the power to make things grow huge. One man accidentally discovered a place where there were giant ants the size of a foot each. He believed that he had finally found the place where the beast had died. So he gathered a little pile of silver taels and put it there overnight.”

“Why would he do a thing like that?”

“So that the pile of silver could grow into a giant pile of silver! Then he would be rich!”

“Did it work?”

“Well, in the morning, when he went to check his pile of silver….lo and behold….he had a huge surprise!”

“The pile of silver grew?”

“Actually, the pile of silver had disappeared! Apparently, some thieves had gone there in the night and taken the silver away. The neighbours were unsympathetic and thought that the whole affair was hilarious. They talked about the foolishness of the poor man behind his back. He became the laughing stock of the area. Since then, no one else has gone to look for the final resting place of the last of the Ten Whites.”

“What an interesting story,” remarked Shi Mei.

“Yes. A town grew up from the area later, and the locals name it Shibai after the ten white beasts with no name.”

“A town named after a myth,” murmured Shi Mei. “This myth is too far fetched to be true.”

“Maybe,” Wen Yiji replied. “But there is a secret pool in the forest outside Shibai that have fish larger than humans. These giant fish are very dangerous and will attack any animal that falls into the water. I have seen them!”

“You are joking with me, aren’t you?”

“I am not.”

“Yes you are!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes you are!”

“Well, would you like to see the fishes?”

“Yes! If they do exist!”

“Oh, they exist! I will take you to Shibai by the forest route. When we come to the pool, make sure that you do not fall into the water. We do not call it the Pool of the Devil fish for nothing! I will prepare a pack of mutton biscuits for each of us. The Devil fish love these biscuits and go wild over them. Keep the mutton biscuits on your body. If you fall into the water, throw out your mutton biscuits. The fish will be too busy fighting for the biscuit scraps to notice you. Then maybe you will have a chance to make it to the shore alive.”

“I have never heard of mutton biscuits. Is that another of your myths?”

“No. Mutton biscuits are less common than chicken biscuits, but there is a place that actually sells them,” said Wen Yiji. “We will be coming to it soon. Then I will buy some for you to try. Frankly, I don’t fancy the smell, but the Devil fish will fight among themselves just to get at it!”

Shi Mei glanced sideways at him. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if he was serious or not. She wondered if he would really marry her. They had not broached the subject of marriage at all ever since she discovered his semi-invisibility. If he did not wish to marry her, she knew that she could not force him. Life was proving to be quite complicated. On top of that, everything about him was not normal.

+ + + + + +

Eunuch Kong was feeling fidgety. Something was not quite right. He could not help wondering why Royal Concubine Lin wanted him to include an unknown flute player in his list of music presenters for the Emperor’s entertainment. Royal concubines stayed at the palace all the time. They did not mix with anyone, not even with the eunuchs. How could Royal Concubine Lin possibly know of any flute player? A wild thought came to him that some conspiracy was afoot, and that it involved a flute player.

Urging his horse along the forest path, he looked behind him. Four riders were following closely behind. They were palace guards who were accompanying him for the inspection of the Pool of the Devil fish. Their job was to make sure that the area around the pool was safe enough for the Emperor’s visit. It would not do for the Emperor to slip and fall into the pool.

The riders reached the Pool of the Devil fish and they quickly dismounted. After they had tethered their horses, they set about to inspect the ground. The pool lay at the foot of a waterfall, surrounded by steep cliffs. Anyone stepping off the cliff will fall vertically down into the pool. Huge ominous shapes could be seen patrolling beneath the surface of the water. The sight sent shivers down the spines of the palace guards.

As Eunuch Kong and the four palace guards were inspecting the area, the Flute Master and his three disciples emerged from among the nearby trees. Blackface, Whiteface and Phoenix had accompanied their master for this particular mission.

Sensing trouble, Eunuch Kong quickly gathered his men together.

The Flute Master approached and asked him, “Are you Eunuch Kong?”

“Yes I am,” replied the eunuch.

“The same eunuch who is responsible for the Emperor’s musical entertainment?” asked Master Chui.

The eunuch noted the two flutes at the waist of the man before him. A flute player! Something in his mind clicked. He said, “Yes, I am. You must be the flute player that one of our royal concubines wished to include for the Emperor’s entertainment on the night of the full moon.”

“That, I am,” answered the Flute Master. “You are very astute!”

“I am afraid to say that I am not able to include you into our list of entertainers. The musical programme for the Full Moon party is already fixed. Perhaps I can arrange for you to play for some other noble at another time ”

“Do not trouble yourself. Today, I have a message for you.”

“What is it?”

“The message says, “We await you here!”.”

“May I ask from whom the message is from?” inquired the eunuch politely.

“The message came for the ox-head horse-face,” replied the Flute Master without emotion.

There was a pause. Finally, the eunuch asked, “You wish to kill me?”

“Yes!” replied the Flute Master.

“Just because I will not allow you to play your flute for the Emperor during the Full Moon party?”

“That is correct!”

"Do not think that I am easy game,” warned the eunuch. “I am not completely unknown in the martial underworld. "

"I am aware that Eunuch Kong is known by reputation as the one who wields the One Trick Sword! A sword forged by the best royal swordmakers and presented to him by the Emperor himself. A sword so sharp that it can slice through bone! But that does not mean that I should fear you!”

“If you have heard of my One Trick Sword, then you should know that killing me will not be a simple task. Go away, musician, before I am forced to kill you."

“What is so difficult about killing a balless freak?” asked Master Chui with a sneer.

The face of the eunuch flushed with rage. In anger, he gave an order to two of the palace guards, “Go slap that impudent old man for me!”

The two palace guards approached Master Chui, confident in their abilities to handle a flute player. They reached the Flute Master and raised their hands in readiness to deliver their slaps. The Flute Master lashed out suddenly with his powerful iron palms. It happened fast. Much too fast for the two unfortunate palace guards. They flew through the air and landed into the Pool of the Devil fish below.

Whiteface, Blackface, Phoenix and the two remaining guards rushed to the edge of the cliff to look.

"Look at the Devil fish go!" cried Phoenix. "They are tearing the two men apart!"

The water surface churned frothy from the thrashing about of the giant fish.

"The water has turned red!" remarked Whiteface gleefully. "Send in two more men, sifu!"

Immediately, the eunuch and the other two palace guards realized that they were not dealing with a normal musician. Quickly, they drew their swords.

Whiteface, Blackface and Phoenix attacked the two remaining guards, leaving Eunuch Kong to their sifu.

The eunuch lunged at Chui La Pa with his One Trick Sword. The flutist neatly avoided the lunge and stepped to one side. A barrage of sword thrusts pressured him backwards and the Flute Master retreated step by step avoiding the stokes from the famous weapon. Both men were fast.

"You may be quick on your feet," noted Eunuch Kong. "But you cannot avoid my sword forever. Why don't you use a weapon?"

"My hands are my weapons," replied Chui La Pah. "Your One Trick Sword is useless against me."

"If that is the case, why do you avoid my strokes. Why not stand there and allow me to cut you up?"

"Fine, maybe I will! I was merely toying with you. I wanted to know if the famous Eunuch Kong is as good as people say! You are good.....but not that good!"

Once more, Eunuch Kong attacked. With a combination of strokes, he sliced the air and bits and pieces of cloth flew in the air.

"These clothes are new!" snarled the Flute Master, looking down at his chest where his clothes were in tatters. "I just bought them!"

"My stroke was aimed to kill you. Consider yourself lucky that you are not even bleeding," said the eunuch.

"Luck has nothing to do with it," said the Flute Master. "It is time that I stop toying with you and your stupid sword!"

Eunuch Kong smiled and delivered a thrust to the chest of the Flute Master, expecting to penetrate it. To his shock, the sword was stopped by the chest. Before he could get over his shock, the Flute Master hit the eunuch in the stomach with a powerful iron palm hit. The eunuch flew in the air and landed on the ground, coughing blood.

Clutching the stomach, the eunuch gasped, "That is not possible!"

"Golden Armour kungfu," explained the flutist. "Impenetrable to sword or spear!"

"No!" gasped Eunuch Kong.

“Yes!” said the Flute Master. “You could never have hurt me! I was merely toying with you, to see if your One Trick Sword was really as good as what people claimed. In the martial underworld, I have no equal under Heaven!”

With a struggle, the eunuch tried to get up on his feet. He failed. He was bleeding internally and he knew it. The Flute Master bent over and retrieved a scroll of paper from the eunuch’s body.

“The list of musicians!” he laughed triumphantly.

A palace guard had come too close to the Flute Master who grabbed his sword arm and held it immobile. As the guard tried to free himself, Whiteface ran his sword through the palace guard’s heart, killing him instantly. The last remaining guard had to battle alone against the three disciples of the Flute Master. The end was never in doubt. He was outnumbered by people equally as skilled as he was. They slashed him till he fell down and then they slit his throat.

Painfully, still clutching his sword, Eunuch Kong tried again to get up. He sensed that the flute player would not kill him just for the mere fact that he could not get the opportunity to play the flute for the Emperor’s Full Moon party. Some dirty conspiracy was afoot! He had to get to his horse. He had to warn the Emperor that something was not right!

Just as he struggled to his feet, Wen Yiji and Shi Mei came around the corner in their carriage.

“Run!” screamed the eunuch to Wen Yiji. “Full Moon party…..warn Emperor…. knife spear no……”

His voice was cut off as the Flute Master delivered another powerful iron palm blow to his chest. His body flew over the ground and he disappeared over the edge of the cliff to the pool below.

"Aiyeeeeeiiiii!" shouted the eunuch just before he hit the water. There was the sound of a splash and the eunuch’s voice was heard no more. Immediately the water surface churned chaotically as the Devil fish went into a frenzy. The poor eunuch was torn from limb to limb by the huge Devil fish fighting for a piece of his flesh.

Wen Yiji was horrified when he saw the presence of the Flute Master. He saw and recognized Blackface, but Phoenix was not known to him. He had been an Imperial Guard before, so he knew that the man who had been just sent to feed the Devil fish was Eunuch Kong of the One Trick Sword. It was a bad situation. The path was narrow and he could not turn back. He could not go forward because of the Flute Master blocking his path.

“Get ready to run, Shi Mei!” he hissed softly. The manner by which the Flute Master had defeated the much respected Eunuch Kong alarmed him. Maybe, he could get away, but Shi Mei would be vulnerable.

There was no opportunity to run as Whiteface had quietly sneaked alongside the carriage and pointed his sword at the throat of Shi Mei.

“Don’t even move!” warned Whiteface. “Or the girl gets it in the throat!”

Wen Yiji recognised Whiteface as the man speaking with Ah Long at the Casino Royal.

“Please let us pass,” Wen Yiji called out. “Your affairs are none of our business. Besides, we did not see anything!”

"Come down from the carriage!" commanded the Flute Master.

"You heard him!" said Whiteface. "Hurry up before the girl loses her head to my weapon!"

Wen Yiji and Shi Mei had no choice but to get down from the carriage.

"Look," said Wen Yiji. "We are only passing through."

"You poor bastards," said Chui La Pah. "Who you are does not concern me. Your sin lies in being in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

Blackface came forward and reached out with his hand to stroke Shi Mei's face. "Such a beautiful face!" he commented.

Wen Yiji shot out his hand and grabbed the offending hand with a vice-like pain-inflicting grip.

"Do not touch my woman!" he snarled angrily.

Shi Mei was pleased. It was the first time that she had heard Wen Yiji refer to her as his woman. If circumstances had been different, she might even have blushed!

Reacting to the pain, Blackface tried to wrench back his hand and Wen Yiji released his grip. Blackface pulled back his hand and rubbed it ginggerly. His face turned black as he screamed, “I’ll kill you!”

Something about Wen Yiji and the girl looked oddly familiar to the Flute Master. He wondered if he had seen them before somewhere. Maybe he had, but he could not recall. He walked to Wen Yiji and stared hard at the man before him.

“Have I seen you somewhere before?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” replied Wen Yiji. “I am only a harmless trader. May I know what it is that you want?”

“Shut up! I ask the questions around here,” replied Chui La Pah. “If you give me any trouble, you will see your woman decapitated before your very eyes. So, don’t be foolish!”

Wen Yiji stood still. He decided that maybe if he did not goad them, they would let Shi Mei go. The Flute Master moved a hand in front of Wen Yiji who remained still. Suddenly, with a swift movement, the Flute Master pulled out the acupuncture needle from We Yiji’s collar bone area. Just before he could turn semi-invisible, Wen Yiji quickly used his Dark Fire inner energy to counter the invisibility energy, thus maintaining full visibility. With his Dark Fire energy being occupied, he was vulnerable, but it could not be helped. He could not let the Flute Master know that he was semi-invisible, or he would have no chance to get away at all.

“What is this needle for?” asked the Flute Master.

“It is to treat my medical condition,” replied Wen Yiji.

“What kind of medical condition?” asked the Flute Master.

“I have a rare blood disease,” replied Wen Yiji. “Whoever comes into contact with my blood will also contact the disease. If you kill me with a sword, you will have to boil your sword for forty nine days to sterilize it.”

“You are trying to discourage me from killing you, aren’t you? Rare blood disease, my ass.”

“All right then. You tell me why anybody would want to have an acupuncture needle stuck in his body. For fun, is it?”

“I don’t like your personality,” said the Flute Master. “I should try to improve your personality first before disposing of you!”

He dropped the acupuncture needle to the ground and then punched Weh Yiji solidly in the stomach. Wen Yiji bent over from the pain. A blow to the head caused Wen Yiji to drop to the ground. He could not retaliate. Not when Shi Mei was being held hostage. He hoped that the Flute Master would be satisfied with just beating him up and then later let both of them go. Or at least, let Shi Mei go.

“Stand up!” ordered the Flute Master.

Wen Yiji did as he was told. He was sent sprawling back to the ground when Blackface punched him hard on the head from behind. He picked himself up, bracing himself for yet another blow. This time it came from the Flute Master whose iron palm to the chest staggered him. It was a direct hit. The intense pain that he felt inside him told Wen Yiji that he had been badly injured. His head felt giddy and he tried not to faint. Then the Flute Master delivered a kick to his chest; a kick so powerful that it sent him flying into the air.

Wen Yiji found himself flying over the edge of the cliff and falling down towards the Pool of the Devil fish below. His packet of mutton biscuits dropped out of his clothes in midair. As he fell, he saw the sky swirling around him and a little voice in his head warned him that he was about to lose consciousness. Quickly, he disengaged his Dark Fire energy from his invisibility energy and threw a palm blast sideways. The effort was weak, but it was enough to move his body slightly nearer the side of the cliff in midair. He reached out and clawed the cliff desperately. In a stroke of luck, he managed to grab a tree root that had grown out of the side of the cliff. Hanging by the tree root, he spotted more roots and quickly entangled himself among them. Remembering that he was only semi-invisible, he pulled his legs up close to his body.

The packet of mutton biscuits hit the water below and the contents were strewn in the water. The Devil fish smelt them and went berserk. They leapt about in the water trying to fight for the biscuits.

Phoenix had walked to the cliff edge to looked down. “The Devil fish are in a wild frenzy!” she remarked. “The poor bastard!”

“No!” screamed Shi Mei, “No! No! No!”

“Throw the girl in as well!” commanded the Flute Master.

“Sifu,” requested Blackface. “Why don’t you give this girl to me?”

“No!” replied the Flute Master. “We have serious matters at hand! I do not want you to get distracted or physically weakened!”

“But sifu,” begged Blackface.

“No buts!” thundered the Flute Master. “Just do as I say! Throw her in!”

Phoenix interjected, “Bur she is only a young girl, sifu! We do not need to kill her!”

“Shut up!” snarled the sifu angrily. “You the sifu or I the sifu?”

Blackface and Whiteface dragged the sobbing Shi Mei to the cliff edge and then shoved her over.

She fell. As she saw the waters of the pool rushing up at her, she wondered if the end would come quickly. She would hate to feel the Devil fish tearing her body apart. Her life flashed before her eyes. Growing up….her father’s death…..crossing the Yellow River…..meeting Potato Seller and the old man known as the Ghost Ninja….treating Old Man for increasingly decreasing sleep….Old Man’s strange energy pattern. Suddenly, she realized that she knew how to turn off brother Wen’s invisibility! She turned alert instantly and then she saw it; a shoe at the side of the cliff. She recognized the shoe. It belonged to Wen Yiji! That shoe wouldn’t be there unless Wen Yiji was clinging to the side of the cliff in a shroud of invisibility, and one foot had stuck out from the shroud.

At the side of the cliff, Wen Yiji saw Shi Mei falling past him just before he lost consciousness. “Shi Mei……oh no……." he uttered weakly just before his world turned blank as his consciousness slipped away.

Even as Shi Mei was falling, she produced two acupuncture needles from her sleeve and hurriedly stuck them in her head. She knew that without the needles in her head, she would lose consciousness when she struck the water. The needles would block out almost all sensation and keep her from blacking out and drowning. The presence of the Devil fish was another matter. Quickly she reached in her clothes to take out the packet of mutton biscuits. She did not have time to do it.

The sudden splash told her that she had already entered the water. She felt something dimly, but almost all sense of feeling had been blocked out by the two acupuncture needles. She could have broken a few ribs and not know it. She pulled out the pack of mutton biscuits as huge ominous shapes turned towards her. The Devil fish were already rushing to investigate the splash. She tore open the packet of mutton biscuits and hoped for the best. Her body was still travelling downwards towards the bottom of the pool as the mutton biscuits dispersed in the water. The waters swirled with the energies of the huge monstrous fish. While the other Devil fish scrambled for the biscuits, one lone dark shape headed towards her. There was something gleaming at the bottom of the pool near Shi Mei. It was the One Trick Sword of Eunuch Kong that had fallen there. She reached out and grabbed it by the handle.

The dark shape came near her and she was momentarily shocked to see a Devil fish up close. She held the sword with both hands the way that Wen Yiji had trained her to do and waited. She wondered why this particular Devil fish was not chasing after the mutton biscuits like the rest. Maybe it hated mutton. Shi Mei knew that once the mutton biscuits were finished, the other fish would also be heading for her. As the lone Devil fish came at her with its mouth opened, she thrust out with the One Trick Sword. It pierced the hard body of the surprised Devil fish. She pushed and drove the weapon all the way down to the hilt.

This fish was startled by the unexpected turn of events. It had always been the predator in the pool and never the prey. It went berserk and lurched about underwater in a crazy manner. Shi Mei clung to the hilt of the sword with both hands and the huge fish dragged her along. Then it headed madly downstream. With the two acupuncture needles in her head, she could not feel pain and did not have any urge to breathe. In all possibility, she could stay underwater until she passed out and drown; unless she remembered to come up to the surface for air. She had to keep track of the time spent underwater.

Up on the cliff, Phoenix commented, “Poor girl! She didn’t have a chance!”

“The Devil fish are really going crazy!” noted Whiteface. “Look at them thrashing about! It must have been a long time since they tasted female flesh!”

Phoenix looked at him in disgust. She wished that she did not have to marry him.

“Will you people stop yakking and come do some work?” asked an exasperated Chui La Pah. “There are two other dead bodies here still waiting for you people to dispose off!”

Blackface and Whiteface heaved the two remaining dead guards into the pool. The Devil fish had a big feast that day.

Shi Mei had been dragged underwater for quite a long distance already. She thought that it was time to come up for air. As she was about to let go of the handle of the sword stuck to the fish, the fish headed for the river surface and leapt upwards. Both fish and girl were airborne for a moment and she took the opportunity to gulp in air to her starved lungs. They landed in the water again and she clung on. Once more, the berserk fish raced down the river.

Shi Mei did not know how long the crazed Devil fish had been swimming, or how long she had held her breath underwater. She guessed that it was long enough. If she had miscalculated the time, she would faint underwater without warning. The fish was tiring and she saw sand on the river bed. The water was not too deep so maybe she was close to shore. She made a quick decision and let go of the sword handle that she had been gripping. She swam upwards and her head broke the water surface. Breathing in deeply, she found that she was by the river shore. She swam instantly to the side of the river and staggered to the shallows. She turned her head and saw a dark shape in the water coming near. She ran up the shore to dry land. The Devil fish stared coldly at her from the water, blood trailing from where it had been poked by the One Trick Sword. She Mei stared back. She had survived the Pool of the Devil fish!

She walked up to higher land. Suddenly her legs gave way and she fell to the ground. Her body was physically exhausted, but mentally she felt not a thing. Carefully, she pulled out the two needles from her head. The suppressed pain emerged to assail her senses immediately and she passed out.

Chapter 20: The Land of the Giant

A pair of eyes peeped from the bushes and spied on the girl lying on the ground. They looked on for a long time, taking in the sight. Finally, the bushes parted and a big figure furtively threaded towards the girl. He was tall for his age and his eyes were set apart further than what was considered normal.

Using his dirty toes, he nudged the unconscious Shi Mei. When there was no response, he got down and shook her roughly. Again, there was no response. He could see that she was still breathing. He went away to return a short moment later with his horse. Then he lifted the girl up and tied her to the back of the animal. Satisfied, he got on the back of the horse behind the girl and rode the horse away.

Shi Mei slept throughout the journey and it was a long journey. She dreamt that she had been kidnapped by giants and it was not a pleasant dream.

+ + + + + +

By the time Wen Yiji regained conscciousness, it was already mid-afternoon. He opened his eyes and realised where he was. The tree roots had held his weight throughtouthe time he was unconscious. He laughed at having cheated death. Then he remembered Shi Mei. For the first time in years, he wept, "No, Shi Mei, oh no!"

He cried openly, not caring if the Devil fish saw him or not. The sages once said that a man should shed blood and not tears, but he was beyond caring what the dumb sages had said. It was he who had lost somebody, not them.

"No, Shi Mei, oh no!" he cried again and again.

The sight of the Devil fish swimming lazily in the pool below him filled his heart with rage. He looked up. He could not stay in that position forever. He coughed out blood painfully and was aware that his internal injuries needed attention. Staying still, he allowed his Dark Fire inner energy to flow through his body and start the physical healing process. It was a long while before he felt confident enough to start climbing up the side of the cliff. Using tree roots and bushes for support, he labouriously clambered his way up the cliff.

Chui La Pah and his cohorts were long gone. Luckily, his horse and carriage was still there. He stumbled to his carriage and discovered to hi immense relief that the sacks of bones of his family were still intact. He searched the carriage and found what he was looking for; spare acupuncture needles. Taking one, he poked himself in the collar bone area and turned fully visible. With that, the surroundings looked brighter as his eyes let in more light. Sadly, he walked back to the edge of the cliff.

"Shi Mei! Zheng Shi Mei!" he called. He walked along the cliff edge and shouted her name again and again. But there was no answer. The only sound that he could hear was the sound of the waterfall. The only sight that greeted him was that of the Devil fish swimming idly in the water, daring him to enter the water and look.

Finally, he slumped his shoulders and accepted the fact that she was gone. With a heavy heart, he knelt down on the ground and faced the pool.

"Shi Mei," he murmured. "I am truly sorry for bringing you here. You had a valid betrothal agreement with the Wen family. As head of the family, I should have welcomed you to our family and protected you as one of us. My failure was unforgivable. If your father were still alive, he would be sadly disappointed in me. If Heaven sees it fit to turn back the time, I shall not make the same mistake again!"

For a long time, he knelt there unmoving, his face taut in a mixture of sorrow and rage. The wind blew over his body to remind him that the day was getting late. He got up and face south towards Shibai.

There was a bitter hard edge to his voice as he said, "Chui La Pah, I have no enmity with you, yet twice you almost caused my death! I tried minding my own business, but you and your cohorts had Shi Mei thrown to the Devil fish. Now, I will make your business my business! You wish to kill the Emperor? I will foil you! You think you have no equal under Heaven? Your ego is matched only by your ignorance! You think you are supreme? No one should think himself supreme while I am around! I will be the ant that destroys the tiger on the hill! Yes, I will kill you!"

Having made up his mind to kill the Flute Master, he asked himself, "What was it that the balless old guy Kong said? Ah yes.....warn the stupid Emperor.....Full Moon stupid party.....stupid knife spear no........aiyeeeeeiiiii........wait, that last bit was probably a scream before dying!"

He thought back and remembered that Prince Jin and Royal Concubine Lin had a plot to arrange for the Flute Master to play his flute in front of the Emperor during the music recitals in the Summer Palace in Shibai.

"Eunuch Kong said something about a Full Moon party," he thought aloud. "That meant that the music recitals in the Summer Palace in Shibai will take place under the full moon. Today is the thirteenth day of the month. The full moon will be on the fifteenth day. If I hurry, I should reach Shibai in two days' time, just in time to intercept the Flute Master."

A thought occurred to him. Shi Mei had told him that the way to counter sound sha was to wear both ear plugs and nose plugs. He would have to carve out the plugs from wood and wrap them in cloth.

He searched the carriage until he found the extra packets of medicinal herbs that Shi Mei had prepared previously while treating his injuries. He hoped that he would be able to recover from his injuries within two days. He would have to resort to both his internal energy and the medicinal herbs and then hope for the best. The rest would be up to Heaven.

Clicking his tongue, he urged the horse forward and the carriage rolled towards ShiBai.

+ + + + + +

In Shibai, the Seventh Prince was in the Bamboo Villa, a huge secluded house on the outskirts of town.

"Master Sun Cheong," said the prince. "I trust that you have fully recovered from your injuries.”

“I am fully recovered,” replied Sun Cheong. “Thank you.”

“The Flute Master will be making an attempt for my life within the next few days,” said the Seventh Prince. “I need to know how we are to defeat him. You told me once that his Devil Flute has a range of fifty steps.”

“Yes. And an archer's range is more than a hundred steps. I have gathered a team of twenty archers to deal with the Flute Master,” replied Sun Cheong. “They will act as the backup team. I intend to fight and kill the Flute Master before then.”

“Fight him again?” asked the prince. “But you lost to him before!”

“That was because I fought on his terms. In a battle between the mongoose and the cobra, the fighting conditions will determine the winner.”

“But the mongoose always win!”

“No, my prince. The mongoose only wins on open ground. If you put the mongoose and the cobra inside a cage and let them fight, it will be the cobra that wins.”

“How so?”

“The mongoose is fast, but it needs ground to maneuver. Inside a small cage, it will have no place to jump around. The snake will get it first.”

“How does this concern you and the Flute Master?”

“My Buddha Palm blast is effective at twelve steps. If I stand in any spot, I can blast anyone who is twelve steps to the left or twelve steps to the right, making a total coverage of twenty four steps. In this Bamboo Villa, we have a room that I like to call the Strongroom. Its width is only sixteen steps wide. I will have to fight the Flute Master there.”

“Let’s see the room,” suggested the prince.

They walked to the Strongroom, which was solidly built. The room had no windows and had only a door at one end.

“The ceiling is very low and that is why I like it.” explained Sun Cheong. “Anyone with good lightness kungfu would not have any advantage here. He will still have to move around me and not over me, thus limiting his ability to escape from my Buddha Palm. The last time that I fought with the Master Chui La Pah, he won because he maintained his distance from me at twenty five steps; effective for his Devil Flute but too big a distance for my Buddha Palm. It would not be possible to maintain the same distance in this room.”

“What if he blows his flute in here? Will you still be able to fight?”

“The Sounds of Hell from the Devil Flute will have an effect on me, I don’t deny it,” replied Sun Cheong. “However, I can bear the pain for a while. It will take at least twenty breaths of exposure to the Devil Flute to render me ineffective. I can reach any part of this room within two breaths. I will kill the Flute Master long before he can kill me!”

“Good! Very good! But you will have to lure the Flute Master to fight you in this room.”

“When he learns that I am alive, he will come to see for himself. I will lure him in this room. Then I will kill him. However, should I fail; the team of archers will be waiting outside this room to finish him off.”

The Seventh Prince beamed and said, “Now, that sounds like a very good plan!”

+ + + + + +

When evening came, Shi Mei regained consciousness. She discovered that her feet were bound with ropes and her hands were tied behind her back. She was lying on the cold hard ground in what appeared to be a small windowless shack. It could be a wood shack except that there was no firewood around. Whoever brought her here did not have honourable intentions, she concluded. She pulled at the ropes that tied her hands. They were secured tightly at her wrists.

Footsteps approached the shack and the door was suddenly thrown open. Shi Mei closed her eyes and pretended to be still unconscious. Three people entered the tiny shack.

“I found her unconscious by the river and brought her home, father,” said the youngest of them. “I think she is still unconscious.”

“Ah Niu, my son,” said his father. “You have done well. This one will feed us for many days! She is young so her flesh will be soft!”

“No, father!” said Ah Niu. “I don’t want her eaten! I want her for my wife!”

“Ah Niu is right!” said an old woman. “It is time that he gets a wife! This one will do just fine!”

“No, no, no!” said the father. “We will eat this one. The next girl we find can be your wife!”

“That was what you said last time!” protested the son.

“And the time before that!” added the mother. “When are you going to let your son have a wife?”

“Hush!” said the father angrily. “I did not hear any of you complaining when we were eating the last girl!”

“I want to marry this girl!” insisted Ah Niu.

“You will follow my wishes!” thundered the father in anger. “We will slaughter her in the morning! Disobeying your father…..where are your morals?”

“We are cannibals,” replied his wife. “We don’t have morals.”

“Will you shut up!” shouted the father angrily as he slapped his wife. “You will do as I say! Now leave!”

The three of them left the shack. Shi Mei opened her eyes to tiny slits and risked a peek at them. She was surprised to see their size. They were a head taller than most people. The door was bolted from outside and the footsteps faded away as the three of them walked to their hut where they slept.

“Oh shit!” murmured Shi Mei. “What kind of place is this…… people so big! Want to eat me as well! Oh shit! I have to escape!”

She took stock of her surroundings in the fading light. There were no knives that she could use to cut her bonds. She shifted her body. Then, straining her hands, she contorted her body and pushed her bounded hands under her buttocks, under her legs until her hands were in front of her.

“Thank goodness I can do this!” she said. “Brother Wen once said that the best women are those that can contort. He probably meant that the ability to contort was to be used in this type of situation!”

With her hands in front of her, she set about untying her feet. The bonds on her feet were loosened and she freed her legs. The hands were another matter. In the looming darkness, she searched the shack for something that she might use. The only thing that held out some promise was a short bamboo strip that she found on the floor. Darkness was already upon her and she could not see what she was doing. In the dark, she gripped the short piece of bamboo but could not maneuver it to cut the bonds at her wrists.

Feeling her way around, she located a crack in the wall and so she wedged the bamboo strip there. Then she sawed the ropes at her wrist against the bamboo. It took a long time, sawing away in the dark, but the bamboo edge finally cut away the rope that tied her hands. She was free, but she still had to get out of the shack. It was securely secured form outside and she could find no way out. Finally, she curled up behind the door and fell asleep.

The sound of someone at the door woke her up. Quickly, she backed away from the door and knelt down with her hands behind her back. That way, whoever entered the door would not immediately know that her hands and feet were free.

The door opened wide and Ah Niu’s father entered. He held a huge chopper in his hand. It was clear that he had come to take her to her slaughter.

As he approached her, she shouted, “Watch out behind you!”

He turned to look behind him automatically. She chose the moment to get up on her feet and ran around him. He made a desperate attempt to grab her, but she was already out of the door. Outside the shack, she banged straight into a surprised Ah Niu and promptly fell down on the ground.

“Catch her before she escapes!” screamed the father.

Quickly, Shi Mei got back up on her feet as Ah Niu tried to catch her. She moved out of range just in time. Ah Niu’s mother had appeared out of nowhere and was behind her.

“Way of the Water Spider, don’t fail me now!” breathed Shi Mei as she adroitly avoided the hands that reached out to grab her. Using quick darting movements, she avoided being surrounded by them. Then she ran.

Ah Niu ran after her, his long legs covering ground faster than she could run. However, using the Way of the Water Spider’s rapid sudden changes in direction, she frustrated him time and again.

The sound of horses alerted her to the fact that Ah Niu’s father and mother had picked up the chase on horseback.

“Herd her away from the swamp!” yelled the father.

Shi Mei kept running. She sensed that Ah Niu wanted her to go to the left because he ran towards her right. She veered to the right and headed in the direction that they did not want her to go.

“She’s going in the wrong direction!” screamed the mother on horseback.

Shi Mei ran until she came to a swamp. A dirty looking lake lay before her. The soft mushy earth warned her that the ground could be treacherous. However, her Water Spider technique allowed her to skim over the mushy surface towards the lake. Ah Niu followed closely behind and soon found himself ankle deep in mud.

“Ah Niu, come back!” shouted the old woman on horseback.

Shi Mei was tantalizingly close, so Ah Niu ignored the old woman’s warning and continued on after Shi Mei. He slipped and got bogged down knee deep in mushy ground.

“Watch out for the Old One!” screamed Ah Niu’s father. “You are too near the water! If you are in more than your ankles in mud, then you are not safe!”

“It is all right!” yelled Ah Niu. “I don’t see the Old One!”

Shi Mei spied a small island on the lake and she headed out for it. Skimming the water surface, she reached the little island and promptly fell face down on it. Ah Niu stared at her stupidly, wondering in his tiny mind how anyone could walk on the surface of the water.

Shi Mei picked herself up. She had red mud all over her chest, her hands and her face. The island was only the size of a banquet table, but she was safe from the cannibal family for now. She walked to the water’s edge and washed away the red mud from her hands and face.

A big ripple in the water made her look towards her left.

“Something huge is in the water!” she thought.

Ah Niu’s cannibal parents had got down from their horses and were shouting to Ah Niu, “Get away! Quickly! The Old One is nearby!”

Suddenly, to Shi Mei’ horror, a huge head poked up from the water surface between her and Ah Niu. With a swift movement, the head reared up from the water and Shi Mei could not believe what she was seeing.

“A giant serpent!” she gasped. “Impossible! No snake can be that huge!”

The huge serpent towered up high above her, its gargantuan body glistening in the morning sunlight with water dripping from it. It could easily swallow a water buffalo whole. Huge and majestic, its head was like the size of a cart. Shi Mei could only stare in horror.

In panic, Ah Niu scrambled to find firm footing. Both legs were stuck in the mud to his knees. In desperation, he called out to his parents to throw him a rope.

The huge serpent looked at Shi Mei on the island and then at Ah Niu on the shore. Ah Niu looked like it was trying to escape and Shi Mei looked like she was not going to move. The giant snake made a quick decision. It would go after Ah Niu first and eat Shi Mei later. It lunged towards the shore. The body was heavy and Shi Mei theorized that it would not be able to move on dry land.

Ah Niu struggled to get further away from the lake. He managed to lift his legs and was attempting to crawl to safer ground. The monster snake had half of its body in the water. The other half on the swampy ground was moving rapidly towards the hapless Ah Niu.

“Hurry!” screamed the old woman to her son. “The Old One is behind you!”

She picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at the snake. The rock bounced off the head of the serpent and felt into the water. The huge serpent ignored it and glided unconcernedly on the marshy land to reach Ah Niu. It opened its mouth and grabbed Ah Niu by the leg. Then it dragged his body easily towards the water. Ah Niu screamed in terror.

Shi Mei was galvanized into action by the scream. While the Old One was preoccupied, she skimmed across the water towards the shore. Mentally, she tried to shut out the terrifying screams from her mind. The two older cannibals were standing ankle deep in mud and were busy throwing stones at the Old One in a fruitless effort to get it to drop their son. The giant snake held Ah Niu up in the air and stared at the two older cannibals. Then it started swallowing. The poor man’s body disappeared into its cavernous mouth. The screaming stopped.

Shi Mei saw a horse and she headed towards it. The horse was the one ridden by Ah Niu’s father. If she were to get away, she would need a horse. In a flash, she mounted it and rode away.

“The girl is getting away!” shouted Ah Niu’s father.

“Forget her! Save Ah Niu!” screamed the mother.

“Ah Niu is dead!” he screamed back at her. “Let’s go chase our food instead!”

She stopped screaming and stared at the girl fleeing away on horseback. “He has taken your horse!” she cried. “You stupid idiot! Leaving your horse unattended!”

The man ignored his wife and jumped on her horse. He raced the horse in the direction of Shi Mei, hoping to catch up with her.

Shi Mei knew that she was being followed by a lone rider. She had looked behind her and seen that it was Ah Niu’s father. She was not a very good rider and fervently prayed that her horse could outrun him. She was much lighter than her gigantic pursuer, so her horse had the advantage of carrying the lighter weight. However, he was the more skillful rider and he was not willing to give up the chase. On they galloped, one after another at high speed. The horse that he was riding was the first to tire out and he was forced to slow down. Shi Mei drew further and further away from her pursuer. By mid afternoon, she headed into the timberline of a forest and disappeared from sight. The old cannibal tried to follow her tracks into the forest. It was not an easy task, he found. The forest was huge, and soon, he could not detect her tracks at all. Finally, he gave up the pursuit.

+ + + + + +

Royal Concubine Lin had a visitor. A guard showed a young woman to her presence. The young woman knelt down before the concubine politely.

“My name is Phoenix,” said the young woman. “I come with a message from Master Chui La Pah. He said that I am to hand this to you and that you would know what to do.”

Phoenix handed over a scroll of paper to Royal Concubine Lin who opened it.

“The list of musicians from eunuch Kong!” murmured the concubine. “What happened to the eunuch?”

“He met with an unfortunate accident,” replied Phoenix.

Royal Concubine Lin smiled.

“Go back to Master Chui and ask him to wait at the western gate before sundown,” she ordered Phoenix. “Someone will lead him into the palace when the time is near.”

Phoenix nodded and then left the premises.

Royal Concubine Lin took a brush and added in the name of Chui La Pah in the list of musicians. Then she went looking for Eunuch Lam.

“Eunuch Lam,” she greeted, on finding him. “How have you been?”

“I have been well, Royal Concubine Lin,” he replied. “Thank you for your concern.”

“I understand that you are the assistant to Eunuch Kong regarding matters of musical entertainment,” she said.

“That is correct, Royal Concubine Lin.”

“I discovered this scroll on the floor in the corridor the other day. It contained a list of musicians. I think Eunuch Kong must have dropped it. I have not seen Eunuch Kong for a few days. Can I hand it to you instead?”

“Of course!”

The eunuch took the list and opened it.

“It is the list of musicians slated to perform for the Emperor’s Full Moon party!” exclaimed Eunuch Lam. “There is a name there that I do not recognize. Chui La Pah…..who is he?”

“I heard Eunuch Kong say that he is a local flute player that makes wonderful music. If Eunuch Kong is not around, then it will be your job to ensure that the musical programme goes off without a hitch!”

“Oh dear!” said Eunuch Lam. “I know how to organize the other musicians. But I do not know how to get in touch with this Chui La Pah.”

“That is easy,” said Royal Concubine Lin. “Eunuch Kong mentioned to me that he had arranged for this Master Chui La Pah to be at the western gate before sundown tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank you, Royal Concubine Lin!” said a grateful Eunuch Lam. “I will have someone greet him and take him to the musicians’ waiting room tomorrow!”

“Don’t forget!” reminded Royal Concubine Lin.

Don’t worry, I won’t!” replied the eunuch.

+ + + + + +

Shi Mei did not know where she was going. She had come across a stream and followed it, trusting to luck. When night approached, she was too exhausted to look for suitable campsite. She just flopped down on the forest floor and collapsed from exhaustion.

When morning came, she awoke, hungry and aching. She went down to the stream and drank some water. Then she noticed a peculiar thing; her breasts appeared to have grown slightly. She stripped naked and examined her body. Nothing else was affected. She examined her clothes. There were still streaks of dried red mud on the front of her clothes.

For a while, she thought over the happenings of the previous day.

Finally she smiled, “I understand now! Giant fish…..giant snake…..there is a connection. On that little island on the swampy lake, I fell down flat on my front on this strange red mud. Somehow, when I washed myself, I omitted to wash away the mud that was on my chest. So when I slept, it caused my chest to grow! Luckily I discovered it just in time or my breasts will grow really big! This red mud must have awesome powers!”

She led the horse to the water to allow it to drink.

“I believe I know now where the last of the Ten Whites had died!” she said excitedly. “In that swampy lake! And its powers transferred to the red mud! Anything in contact with it will grow! Like the serpent on the lake known as the Old One! So, the legend of Shibai is really true!”

Chapter 21: Killing me softly with his song

Wen Yiji entered the town of Shibai in the early afternoon. He guided to carriage to a familiar side of town looking for a suitable place to stay. He wanted somewhere obscure so as not to attract attention. He had stayed at the Small Shibai Inn the last time that he was here. It had been a long time ago, during his Imperial Guard days. The Small shibai Inn had a larger rival up the road, the Large Shibai Inn. There was intense rivalry between the two.

The Large Shibai Inn had a sign that said, “Come to the Large Shibai. Large enough to fit everybody!”

In response, the Small Shibai Inn had a sign that said, “Come to Small Shibai. Small enough to experience that feeling of closeness!”

Wen Yiji preferred the Small Shibai because the service was more to his liking. Without much effort, he located the Small Shibai Inn and then took an upstairs room. He was tired after all that travelling and he needed to sleep. After moving his stuff to his room, he gave the waiter instructions to wake him up before sundown.

“Remember, you have make sure that I wake up!” he told the waiter.

The waiter nodded. Wen Yiji promptly went to sleep.

+ + + + + +

While Blackface and Whiteface stayed at the Green Gate Inn, Phoenix and Chui La Pah stayed at the Red Lantern Inn at the next road. Chui Lah Pah had a good reason not to allow his two male disciples to stay at the same inn as Phoenix. He did not want then to fight over her when they had such important matters at hand.

In the mid afternoon, he went with Phoenix to a quiet mansion in Shibai that was owned by Prince Jin. Phoenix had been serving as the messenger between Prince Jin and Concubine Lin. Prince Jin was quite happy with her. More than that, he wanted to bed her. If only he did not have such important things to organize.

At the mansion, the Flute Master awaited some last minute instructions from Prince Jin.

“Chui La Pah,” said Prince Jin. “I want everything to go as planned tonight. Remember that every one must die!”

“Of course, Master.”

“If for some reason the Emperor is not present during the music recitals, then I want you to abort. No sense in killing everybody without killing off the Emperor. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” replied Chui La Pah. “Let’s hope that nothing goes wrong.”

“If for some reason something does go wrong, I will need to keep communications lines open between me and Concubine Lin. It would be better for Phoenix stay close by.”

“That is true. She can carry messages between you two with less suspicion. Is there a room here that she can stay?”

“The rooms here are all full up, but that is not a problem. I can have my man, Red Wind, vacate his room and go to stay at one of the Shibai inns. Phoenix can have his room.”

Red Wind was summoned. “Pack your stuff,” ordered Prince Jin. “I want you to stay at an inn tonight and await further instructions.”

“Of course,” replied Red Wind. He looked at Phoenix and wondered when he would have a chance to get her naked again. Phoenix looked at him knowingly. She remembered how big he was. Red Wind went to his room, got his stuff and left.

A thought occurred to Chui La Pah just as he was leaving.

“Master, once I blow my Devil Flute, even Concubine Lin will lose her life. Do you realize that?” asked the Flute Master.

“I would rather that she not be harmed. She can still be useful to me. But if it cannot be helped, then it cannot be helped. She is expendable,” answered Prince Jin. “Her son, the Seventh Prince, has to die together with all the other princes and the Emperor. Once your job is done, get out of there!”

“There will be turmoil in the Summer Palace after tonight.”

“I will turn up at tomorrow morning to take charge of the funeral arrangements. After that I will take charge of the country! You will be well rewarded after that!”

“Thank you, Master!” replied a happy Chui La Pah. Visions of immense power filled his ambitious mind. He had great plans for his future. Happily, he went back to his hotel to prepare for the evening.

After her sifu had left, Phoenix was not surprised to hear Prince Jin say, “Lady Phoenix, I am very tense, waiting for the action to happen.”

She was an astute lady, so she asked, “And so you had me move here so that I can help you to release your tension?”

“You are a very smart woman!” remarked the prince. “You will go far!”

Smiling, she allowed him to lead her to his bedroom. She had never been pounded by a prince before. Besides, she could do with some tension releasing exercises herself.

+ + + + + +

At the Summer Palace, the Seventh Prince came back from the hunt in a carriage. He had been thrown from his horse according to several witnesses. In truth, he had deliberately jumped from his galloping horse. He faked a chest injury and refused to get up and thus had to be carried into the palace. With his head all bruised up, he asked the Emperor to excuse him from the Full Moon party. The request was granted.

Concubine Lin then asked to be excused from the Full Moon party so that she could also take care of her son. The request was denied.

“You are not a daifu,” said the Emperor to her. “You are unable to help my son. You will only be in the way. I want all the concubines to be present!”

She pleaded, but he was adamant. Finally, she used her fallback plan.

“Can I ask the Emperor if I can sit at the back row then?” she asked.

“You are the mother of a prince,” said the Emperor. “You should sit at the front row. Why would you want to sit at the back with all the junior concubines?”

“My stomach has been giving me problems lately,” she replied. “I break wind every now and again. If I do it at the Full Moon party, then I may destroy the atmosphere of everyone. That would be so embarrassing. Let me sit at the back near the corner so that I will not disturb the evening’s performances!”

“All right then,” agreed the Emperor. “You can sit at the back, but I want to see you there!”

Concubine Lin thanked the Emperor. It was not a very good plan. But it was better than nothing. She would have to depend on her ear plugs to save her life.

She met with her son later and they discussed the matter privately.

“Once Chui La Pah has killed off everybody, you will be the most obvious target!” she told her son.

“We will send word to Prince Jin that I am hiding at the Bamboo Villa. They will surely go there to kill me. Then, Master Sun Cheong and his archers will take care of them!”

“Good!” said his mother. “The game has started. We will see who wins the throne!”

+ + + + + +

Chui La Pah was already at the western gate long before sundown. He decided to be early because he could not stand waiting around at the inn where he was staying and doing nothing. As he waited at the gate, his mind idly replayed the scene where he had killed Eunuch Kong. It was a good clean kill, but yet something bothered him. The carriage driver and the girl had appeared out of nowhere to complicate things, but no matter, he had taken care of them as well.

Suddenly, he had a jolt in his memory.

"Oh my God! I remember now where I had seen the carriage driver and the girl!" he said to himself. "They were on the same boat as the Ghost Ninja! And that carriage was the same carriage I saw at the place where Sun Cheong killed the Ghost Ninja! What is their connection with the Ghost Ninja, I wonder."

He thought about the matter further before exclaiming, "Damn! I wish I had questioned those two before having them killed! Damn! Damn! Damn!"

Just before sundown, an eunuch came to the western gate and asked him, "Are you Master Chui La Pah?"

The Flute Master bowed and replied, "I am."

"I am Eunuch Lam. Follow me, please," beckoned the eunuch.

+ + + + + +

At the Small Shibai Inn, Wen Yiji was woken up by the waiter banging on his door.

"It is almost sundown, master!" cried the waiter.

Quick as a flash, Wen Yiji got out of bed. He felt much refreshed from his sleep. Grabbing his short bow and arrows, he hurried out of the inn.

As luck would have it, Red Wind was asking for a room at the Small Shibai Inn at that moment. Wen Yiji walked past him with just a cursory glance.

Red Wind noticed Wen Yiji's short bow and remarked to himself, "That bow looks shorter than normal. More suitable for a boy than a man. Why would any one wish to carry such a short bow? The arrows will not fly the distance!"

He stared at Wen Yiji's retreating back.

Then he turned to the waiter to ask, “Where is that man going with the bow and arrows at this hour? Hunting night owls?”

“I don’t know sir,” replied the waiter.

+ + + + + +

At the Summer Palace, Chui La Pah was taken to the waiting area of the musicians. All the other musicians were already gathered there.

"You are the warm-up act for the other musicians," said Eunuch Lam. "So, you will go out first. We will allow you the time to play just one song. Once you have finished playing, you will have to leave."

"All right," murmured the Flute Master. He hated the fact that he was only the warm-up act and not the main draw. But never mind; once he had finished, there would not be a main draw.

The eunuch led him to the centre of the open space in front of a hall where the royal audience was already gathered and waiting. Chui La Pah noted that the Emperror was there in the front row. Chui La Pah knew what each and every prince looked like. All the princes were there. All except the Seventh Prince. Where was he? He scanned the crowd and spotted Concubine Lin at the last row.

The Flute Master thought, "Maybe the Seventh Prince is late. I will play a song using a normal flute first. If he still does not appear by the time that I finish the song, I will have to use my Devil Flute and kill off everybody first. Then, I'll kill him on another occasion!"

Eunuch Lam made his announcement, "For our first act, a local musician, Master Chui La Pah, will be playing a flute. The song he will be playing is entitled 'Killing me softly with his song'."

"I know that song!" whispered the concubine seated next to Royal Concubine Lin. "It goes like this......I heard he sang a good song......I heard he had a style......And so I came to see him, to listen for a while.........And there he was, this young boy.........a stranger to my arse.........."

"Hush!" whispered Royal Concubine Lin tensely. "Will you just shut up and listen!"

Royal Concubine Lin kept her ear plugs one in each hand. She covered her ears and surreptitiously inseted the ear plugs. Her hair covered her ears and no one noticed a thing.

Chui La Pah played the song beautifully that even the Emperor was impressed.

"Good!" shouted the Emperor. "Very good!"

Royal Concubine Lin did not know why everything appeared to be normal. She was expecting people around her to die like flies. As she was using earplugs, she did not hear the Flute Master’s rendition of “Killing me softly with his song”.

The Seventh Prince had still not appeared. The Flute Master decided that he could wait no longer. He kept his normal flute and then took out his Devil Flute. Royal Concubine Lin noticed the change in flutes and had an inkling that something drastic was about to happen. She braced herself.

Taking a deep breath, the Flute Master blew a long note on the Devil Flute. Many in the audience were frozen stiff into a state of pain by the Sounds of Hell emanating from the flute. Like wooden dolls, they toppled over to the ground.

Shrouded in invisibility, Wen Yiji had just crossed the outer wall of the Summer Palace. He had still to get over the inner wall to where the Full Moon party was being held. He felt his body bathed by a evil vibration in the night air and he mumbled, "Shit! It's already started!"

The slight air vibration was not enough to hurt him yet as he was not within range of the Devil Flute. As fast as he could, he put on his ear plugs and nose plugs.

“Opening my mouth to breathe will allow those evil sounds to enter me. I will have to fight with one breath!” he noted grimly. “Either that or move out of range to breathe and shoot from there! However, I suspect that the Flute Master may be able to evade a long range arrow.”

He got up and ran towards the inner palace wall and made a giant leap upwards to the top of the wall. A soldier noticed a pair of legs running by in the night. Instead of raising the alarm, he turned and looked the other way. The summer palace was empty for most of the year, and was known to be haunted. The poor soldier was alarmed that he had the misfortune to see a torsoless body moving about.

Eunuch Lam had been standing nearest to the Flute Master and got the worst of the Sounds of Hell. His head felt like exploding as note after note from the Devil Flute hit him mercilessly. The poor eunuch screamed, “It’s the flute! It’s the fucking flute!”

It was the first time that Eunuch Lam had ever uttered an obscenity. It was the last time that he would utter anything.

The Emperor’s bodyguards had greater inner energy than everybody else and were therefore not immediately immobilized by the Devil Flute. Two of them helped the Emperor to his feet and attempted to get him away to safety. Another six drew their swords and rushed at the Flute Master. However, the Sounds of Hell had slowed them down considerably and they were like drunken chickens trying to kill a dangerous tiger. The Flute Master kept on playing his weird music without missing a note even as he sidestepped the flashing blades of the bodyguards. One by one, they fell down quivering uncontrollably, victims of the devilish sounds.

Among the audience was an eunuch whom the palace staff called the Useless One. He was an old eunuch who was half-blind, deaf, and was constantly having a head cold. With his deafness and stuffy nose, he was the least affected by the Sounds of Hell. He was not sure what was happening but he was savvy enough to know that some great catastrophe had befallen the Emperor. He saw the Emperors bodyguards attacking the Flute Master who played on unconcernedly. Grabbing a fallen spear, the Useless One joined in the attack on Chui La Pah.

From high up the wall, Wen Yiji could see a lot of people fallen on the ground and Chui La Pah was being attacked by a lone eunuch with a spear. Wen Yiji was not within effective range of the Devil Flute yet. He sent an arrow flying to the Flute Master. Just as he expected, the Flute Master evaded the arrow even while blowing on his flute.

Chui La Pah looked up at the wall to see where the arrow had come from. Under the full moonlight, he could see no one. A movement from a spear made him turn his attention to the deaf eunuch. The spear of the eunuch had poked him in the thigh causing no damage, as it could not penetrate the skin. However, the spear tip tore the fabric of his clothes. The Flute Master thought that the eunuch was a minor irritation, refusing to die when all others had fallen. However, he was not going to be distracted from blowing his Devil Flute. Just a few more notes and everything would be over.

“I will have to shoot from a closer distance!” thought Wen Yiji. Leaping off the wall into the air towards his quarry and fitting an arrow to his bow at the same time, Wen Yiji waited till he was within ten steps of the Flute Master before releasing the arrow. It was a powerful shot. The arrow sped towards its target with a force that would kill a buffalo. In amazement, Wen Yiji watched as his arrow bounced off the back of the Flute Master.

“Shit of a dog! He must be wearing metal armour beneath those clothes!” he breathed. “I will have to shoot at a place that is exposed!”

Although the arrow could not penetrate the skin of the Flute Master, it nevertheless deflected his attention away from the task at hand. Chui La Pah half turned his body to look behind him and at that moment, a wild swing of the spear from the deaf eunuch knocked the Devil Flute out of his hands. There was a sudden respite from the Sounds of Hell.

Seeing that the Flute Master was not blowing on his Devil Flute, Wen Yiji took the opportunity to breathe through his mouth. He fitted another arrow to his bow and leapt upwards over the Flute Master who attempting to recover his dropped flute. Aiming from the night sky downwards, he sent an arrow towards the Flute Master. The arrow crashed against the head of the flutist and promptly bounced off.

“Aiyakkkkk!” shouted the Flute Master involuntarily. The arrow had left his hair in a mess. He looked skywards for the unseen bowman.

A shocked Wen Yiji exclaimed, “That is not possible! No head can be that hard!”

A thought occurred to him.

“Knife spear no enter! That was what Eunuch Kong meant when he said “…..knife spear no….” The Flute Master must have somehow mastered the mythical Golden Armour technique!” breathed Wen Yiji with great alarm.

The Golden Armour kungfu was the holy grail of most kungfu fighters as the martial technique would render them almost impossible to kill. The revelation caused him to pause momentarily, unsure how to shoot next.

The Flute Master rubbed his head. He looked around him in puzzlement. All he could see was the Useless One who was still attacking him with the spear. He had retrieved his Devil Flute from the ground but did not put it to his lips. He decided to kill off the tiresome eunuch who did not seem as affected by the Sounds of Hell as the rest.

As the Useless One thrusted the spear in his direction for the umpteenth time, the Flute Master swerved to avoid it and then with a raw power worthy of a kungfu master, he delivered an iron palm blow on the chest of the deaf eunuch. The eunuch flew through the air and landed some distance away. There was no more movement from the Useless One after that.

Wen Yiji thought quickly, “I remember that I have heard it mentioned before that even with the Golden Armour kungfu, the martial artist would still have vulnerable points like the eyes and goodness-knows-where! If he opens his mouth wide, maybe I can shoot an arrow down his throat!”

However, the Flute Master showed no sign of opening his mouth wide. He placed the Devil Flute to his lips and prepared to blow again. At that moment, Wen Yiji released the arrow, his fourth one, and the target was one of the eyes of the Flute Master.

The arrow covered the short distance between Wen Yiji and Chui La Pah. The Flute Master was alert and he detected an arrow coming at him out of nowhere. He blinked. The eyelid fell over the eye just in time to foil the speeding arrow. The arrow hit the skin of the eyelid and bounced right off.

“Shit!” thought Wen Yiji furiously. “Even the eye is impervious to my arrow!”

Chui La Pah was astonished that an arrow could have appeared out of thin air. A sudden thought struck him. “The Ghost Ninja!” he swore. “Only he could do a thing like that! But it cannot be! The Ghost Ninja is dead…..I saw the body!”

Quick as a flash, the Flute Master picked up a fallen spear. Twirling it above his head, he threw the spinning spear at the spot where the arrow had come from, hoping to hit something unseen. The swirling spear spun in the air towards where Wen Yiji was crouching. However, Wen Yi had already moved away from that spot.

The move was not lost on Wen Yiji. "He's suspecting the presence of an invisible being, or he would not throw the spear like that!" he thought. “He just wanted to see if he could hit something!”

Wen Yiji wondered if it was possible to kill the Flute Master. His arrows seemed so impotent to the Flute Master’s Golden Armour kungfu. He wondered what next to do. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the two bodyguards had taken advantage of the lull in the devilish sounds to get the Emperor into the hall. One of them bore the Emperor on his back.

“Chui La Pah will surely chase after the Emperor!” Wen Yiji guessed. “I’ll have to get to the hall first if I am to prevent the Emperor’s assassination!”

Using lightness kungfu, Wen Yiji leapt into the air. Chui La Pah turned his body. His ears had caught the sound of movement. He sensed the presence of another kungfu martial artiste, but did not know where he was.

The two bodyguards got the Emperor through the doorway of the hall.

“Carry the Emperor away to safety first!” cried one of the guards to the other. “I’ll close the doors!”

The guard swung the heavy doors to close it. Wen Yiji leapt through the doorway invisibly over the head of the guard just before the doors closed. He landed inside the hall in a crouching position and watched the guard trying to bar the door shut.

Booooommmmm!!!

The doors were thrown wide open by a powerful blow from the Flute Master just before the guard could place the wooden bar in place. The poor guard flew backwards and crashed his head against a pillar.

Wen Yiji fitted and arrow to his bow and waited.

The Flute Master walked in, blowing his Devil Flute. The second guard, who was carrying the Emperor, collapsed and the Emperor dropped to the floor.

“What do I do? Where do I shoot?” asked Wen Yiji furiously to himself. “The Golden Armour technique makes the skin unbreakable! There has to be a weak point somewhere! Where is the skin thinnest?”

The Flute Master surveyed the inside of the hall as he continued with his flute playing. Both the emperor and the second guard were clamping their hands over their ears, vainly trying to shut out the evil sounds of destruction.

“The nutsack!” thought Wen Yiji. “The skin over the balls is the most stretchable! The testicles could possibly be his weakest point! Maybe I should aim for them before my breath runs out!”

He continued holding his breath, drew back his bow and waited. He was all that was between the Flute Master and the Emperor. Step by step, the Flute Master came nearer, still blowing away on his death-dealing Devil Flute.

Ten steps.…..nine.…..eight……seven…...six……

The Flute Master was getting nearer. His balls were at the eye level of Wen Yiji in his crouching position. However, it was difficult to estimate the position of the balls under those clothes. Wen Yiji aimed for the left ball. It would be lower than the right and therefore, easier to hit. He would shoot when his quarry was two steps away or before his breath ran out.

…..five steps…...four…….three……

The Flute Master paused. Some instinct told him that there was danger ahead.

Wen Yiji did not wait anymore. He had to shoot, and then quickly get out of range of the Devil Flute to breathe. Three steps was not as near as he would have like. He duckwalked forward one step and released the arrow.

Whooosh!!!

The aim was good.

Shhhheeeeegeeeeshkkk!!!

The arrow bounced off the skin of the left ball and clattered to the ground.

“Shit!” muttered Wen Yiji.

Then he noticed that the Flute Master clutching the left ball in agony with his left hand. The skin was indeed highly stretchable in that spot. Instead of immediately deflecting the arrow, the skin had stretched under the impact of the arrow until the left testicle was squashed by the arrowhead. It was like being hit with a blunt instrument in the family jewel. Chui La Pah winced in agony. His flute playing had stopped.

“Aha!” cried Wen Yiji silently. “If the left ball can feel pain, so too, can the right ball!”

He took the opportunity to breathe a gulp of air. Then, quickly, he fitted another arrow to his bow and shifted himself to find another position to inflict pain.

The fingers of the Flute Master’s left hand pressed against his left testicle in an attempt to alleviate the pain. Wen Yiji thought he detected the hint of a slight bulge. He shot again. The arrow flew in between the thumb and forefinger of the Flute Master to hit the right ball. Once again, the arrow clattered to the ground, unable to penetrate the skin of the Flute Master. And once again, the nutsack skin stretched to allow the arrowhead to squash the ball underneath. The effect of having both balls squashed in their skin by speeding arrows was too painful to bear. Tears appeared in the eyes of Chui La Pah. In his moment of great pain, he dropped his flute as he bent over. The flute hit the ground and rolled away from him

Quick as a flash, Wen Yiji shot out his hand and scooped up the flute. He leapt away triumphantly with his prize before Chui La Pah could react. Moving quickly around the Flute Master, he kept the flute safely within his clothes.

Bent over and clutching his balls in both hands, the Flute Master waited for the moment of intense pain to pass.

With the Devil Flute no more in action, Wen Yiji was no more afraid of the Sounds of Hell. He removed his uncomfortable ear plugs and nose plugs.

Seeing the Flute Master bent over, Wen Yiji crouched down behind his quarry. He had discovered another spot not protected by the Golden Armour kungfu and it was an opportunity not to be missed. He aimed and shot the arrow at close quarters. The arrow sped from the bow and flew straight up the asshole of bending Chui La Pah. It powered its way up the colon. Chui La Pah clenched his ass tightly in a reflex action. His ass gripped the arrow tightly, preventing further advance. But a quarter of the arrow was already inside the body. The other three quarters protruded out obscenely from the anus.

“Say..…Master Chui!” said Wen Yiji conversationally. “In case you did not know, your asshole is trying to swallow an arrow!”

“You!” gasped Chui La Pah with a great effort. “Who are you?”

“I am the one you tried to kill the other day,” Wen Yiji reminded him. “At the Pool of the Devil fish.”

“The carriage driver!” gasped Chui La Pah. “Where are you? Why can’t I see you?”

“I am very handsome. If you want to see me, you have to pay me a large amount of money.”

The Flute Master thought fast. If he could get away, he would get a good daifu to help him get the arrow out. It was a dangerous situation, but not impossible to recover from. The Emperor! If he could get to the Emperor and hold him hostage, he would be able to get out of the situation.

“If you are a man, show yourself!” he challenged Wen Yiji. “Why hide in the night like a frightened mouse?”

Poking himself in the collar bone area with an acupuncture needle, Wen Yiji became visible. He stood up from his couching position, wearing a piece of cloth that covered his face from the nose downwards. Then he walked forward to stand in front of the Flute Master.

“Wearing a mask?” asked Chui La Pah with a sneer. “Scared to show your face?”

“I have already said that I am very handsome. If you want to see my face, you must be prepared to pay!” replied Wen Yiji. He wore a mask because he did not want the Emperor to see his face.

“Forget it!” said the Flute Master. “I have already seen your face! How is it that you were able to counter the effects of my Devil Flute?”

“I would explain it to you, but you would not be able to understand,” replied Wen Yiji. Actually, he did not want to explain that he simply wore some ear and nose plugs. However, he still remembered Shi Mei’s theories. “The way I countered it is very scientific. I employed the Theory of Relativity that makes the light travel faster than sound. And the speed of light is absolute so it will never slow down. Never!”

The mere mention of Shi Mei’s theories brought a feeling of sadness to Wen Yiji. He missed the girl. It was true that she sprouted scientific nonsense, but he loved to hear them all the same. The girl was unique, one of a kind. The sort of girl who would make a difference to the world, his world. He truly missed her. His eyes grew misty.

Chui La Pah said, “Frankly speaking, I have no idea what you are talking about!”

“See? I told you that you would not be able to understand, didn’t I?” snarled Wen Yiji. “Frankly speaking, you have shit for brains!”

“You have the same abilities as the Ghost Ninja. What is your connection with him?”

“I hardly knew him,” replied Wen Yiji. “I merely gave him a lift. You were chasing him at the Yellow River, weren’t you? You shot arrows at the boat I was travelling on. That wasn’t nice! You know what I do not like about you? You are too willing to kill indiscriminately. You know another thing that I do not like about you? Your monkey butt face! It gives me great pleasure to defeat you today!”

“No! I cannot be defeated! I have no equal under Heaven!” said the Flute Master, conveniently forgetting the fact that he had an arrow sitting inside his asshole.

“No equal under Heaven?” laughed Wen Yiji mirthlessly. “Truly, you think the world about yourself! You really must enjoy blowing your own trumpet, Chui La Pah!”

“What I do is none of your business!”

“That was what I thought, initially. But then, you tried to kill me! You threw the woman I was to marry into the pool to feed the Devil fish! A quick death is not what you deserve! When I am finished with you, I will go and entertain your nasty disciples. They are not where you think they are!”

“They are not at the Green Gate Inn?” asked the Flute Master in surprise.

“Actually, I have no idea where they are!” remarked Wen Yiji. “Thanks for telling me that they are at the Green Gate Inn! I will go and make their miserable lives an agony after this! You will find out the painful way just how good I can be with a bow and arrows!”

“Wait! If you are a real man, then you should fight me like a real man!” said the Flute Master.

“I am fighting you like a real man, you fatherless moron!”

“Then let us fight in unarmed combat! Without weapons! Put down your bow and arrows! You are not that scared, are you?”

“Fine!” agreed Wen Yiji. “Unarmed combat it shall be then!”

Wen Yiji put down his bow and arrows on the floor. Chui La Pah was estimating the distance that he would have to cover to reach the Emperor. Wen Yiji was between him and his target If he could immobilize the archer by hitting him on a yuedao point, then he could get the upper hand in the situation and also recover his flute. He hit some yuedao points on his abdomen to numb out the pain of the arrow in his ass. Then he got ready to do battle.

Both men took up their kungfu stances. Yiji attacked with a combination of punches. The Flute Master was surprisingly fast. He blocked all the punches and delivered several strikes of his own. However, Yiji swerved left and right and Chui La Pah was not able to hit any of Yiji’s yuedao points. Wen Yiji had not fully recovered from his injuries. He was, therefore, slower than usual. However, Chui La Pah, with an arrow in his ass, was not very fast either.

Step by step, Chui La Pah tried to move towards the Emperor. Somehow, Wen Yiji sensed his intention while they were trading blows. As Chui La Pah swirled to avoid Wen Yiji’s leg sweep, the arrow in his butt almost hit Wen Yiji. Wen Yij reached out to grab the arrow. He gave a slight tug. The arrow that was one quarter buried in the asshole became only one-fifth buried. The reverse movement of the barb of the arrowhead tore the colon inside the Flute Master. The Flute Master made a noise like cockerel. It sounded weird. Wen Yiji, however, did not release his grip on the arrow.

“Why are you holding on to that arrow?” demanded the Flute Master. “We agreed to unarmed combat!”

“I was not using a weapon!” retorted Wen Yiji. “But you tried to hit me with the arrow attached to your ass! That’s not fair! It is only right that I pull it out!”

“No!” screamed Chui La Pah. “You cannot pull out the arrow just like that! The arrowhead is barbed!”

“You don’t like me pulling out the arrow?” asked Wen Yiji.

“No, I don’t!” yelled the flute Master emphatically.

“Fine!” Wen Yiji yelled back. “I’ll just push it back in!”

“No!” screamed the Flute Master. He was too late. Wen Yiji had already shoved in the arrow.

“Oooooooops!” cried Wen Yiji as he removed his hand from the arrow. “The arrow has gone in more than before! I only gave it a slight shove but it went in halfway into your ass! Not my fault! I did not expect that the passage would be so smooth! Have you been practicing shoving things into your asshole lately? Such as a carrot? Or a radish? Maybe a brinjal?”

The Flute Master was in too much pain to reply. He would have to hit the yuedao points in his upper abdomen when he was more composed. But at the moment, he was trying hard not to scream.

Wen Yiji continued, “Or did you practised with a bitter gourd? No? A loofah gourd perhaps?”

Chui La Pah screamed curses at Wen Yiji. He knew that his stomach had already been pierced through by the arrow. The possibility entered his mind that he would not be able to extract the arrow even with the best daifu in the land. After mouthing off a string of obscenities, he ended with, “You are donkey shit!”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!” retorted Wen Yiji. “And why were you complaining? I pull out a bit, you complain! Push in a bit, you also complain! I say…….you are so difficult to satisfy!”

“You are the vomit of a cat!” screamed the Flute Master.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me! If I were you, I would not sit down. That could send the arrow all the way up through your asshole to your throat. The arrow is long enough, believe me!”

“You are so ugly……..that if you talk to a snake, it will die!”

“Sticks and stones may…….damn…...that hurts!”

“Your mother…….has…….a moustache!”

“Leave my dead mother out of this, you inbred!” said Wen Yiji angrily

“Your mother……..was so dirty that…………”

Boooooooommmmm!!!!

Chui La Pah did not get to finish what he wanted to say. With the power of the Dark Fire Iron Palm, Wen Yiji had struck him hard. The body of the Chui La Pah flew through the air and hit a pillar. The body slid down the pillar and landed on the floor in a sitting position. The arrow in the ass was pushed by the impact all the way through the chest up to the throat.

Wen Yiji approached the prone Chui La Pah and crouched down.

“I did warn you against sitting down on that arrow!” he said easily. “The arrow tip is probably at your throat by now! This is the end of your long and evil journey, You did not think that it would end this way, did you?”

The Flute Master could only glare back with eyes full of hatred. Talking was almost impossible.

Wen Yiji searched his body. He found nothing.

“Damn!” he muttered. “Since I now inherit your Devil Flute, there should at least be a manual to go with it!”

“All…….manuals…….in…….head……” gasped the dying Chui La Pah.

Wen Yiji took out the Devil Flute and hit the head of Chui La Pah.

Tonk! Tonk! Tonk! Tonk! Tonk! Tonk!

“Nope, nothing there!” he declared. “The head sounds empty to me!”

“My……disciples……..will……avenge…….me!”

“No, they won’t!” declared Wen Yiji. “I will be going to the Green Gate Inn to kill them after this!”

“I…..have……others…….” gasped Chui La Pah after a struggle.

“Oh, you must mean the idiots at the Casino Royal?” said Wen Yiji breezily. “Your disciple, Ah Long, didn’t die by accident you know? I killed him and then burned all the promissory notes owed by the clients. Then I set the place on fire. I guess you did not know.”

Chui La Pah made a gagging sound. His life was ebbing away.

Wen Yiji had originally wanted to tear Chui La Pah to pieces in the same manner that the Devil fish would tear apart their victims. He had wanted Chui La Pah to suffer for a long time before dying. However, seeing the dying man before him, he changed his mind.

Sighing, he kept the Devil Flute and then collected his bow and arrows. He selected an arrow with the thinnest arrowhead. Then, from where he was, he aimed unhurriedly and shot. The arrow flew straight into the right ear of the Flute Master, emerged out the left ear and then got stuck.

Wen Yiji approached the body of the Flute Master and surveyed his handiwork. The end of the arrow was sticking out from the right ear and the head of the arrow was sticking out from the left ear. Chui La Pah had the arrow from ear to ear. It was a gruesome sight. But the Flute Master was no more.

Wen Yiji noticed that the Emperor was attempting to sit up. He walked over to the Emperor. Out of a force of habit from his old days as an Imperial Guard, he knelt down.

“Are you all right, Emperor?” he inquired.

“Yes,” replied the Emperor weakly. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“It’s nothing,” Wen Yiji said.

“May I ask who you are and why this man was trying to kill me?” asked the Emperor.

Wen Yiji did not entirely trust the Emperor. “I am the One Eye Snake,” he replied through his mask. “The man who was trying to kill you was called Chui La Pah.. It was Prince Jin and your Royal Concubine Lin who together conspired to have Chui La Pah play the flute at your Full Moon party.”

“Prince Jin!” exclaimed the Emperor. “And Royal Concubine Lin? Which Royal Concubine Lin?”

“The one with the big tits.”

“There are many that fit the description here. Frankly, I do not know how many concubines I have. Why would any of my concubines consort with my brother?”

“That, I do not know. I only know that they meet in the San Feng Temple in the Imperial City to be intimate with each other.”

“What?” gasped the astonished Emperor. “Being intimate in a temple? Are you certain of your facts?”

“Your precious concubine went to the San Feng temple half a month ago and had her soldiers chased away all the other worshippers. Then she barred the door form inside. Prince Jin was already in a secret room behind the altar waiting for her. The room has a huge bed inside.”

“This is an outrage! My brother and my concubine! How long has this been going on?”

“I do not know. Chui La Pah serves Prince Jin. He killed off Eunuch Kong because your eunuch refused to allow him to play at your music event. I think he wanted to kill off the whole royal family.”

“But why?”

“If I were to guess, I would say that there is a plot to crown a new Emperor. Prince Jin also hired some foreign assassins to kill off the Fifth Prince. At a cost of four thousand and two hundred taels of silver.”

“How do you know all this?”

“By accident. Believe me, I would rather not know all this.”

The Emperor frowned. Finally he said, “This is a matter of grave importance. I will reward you well for saving my life.”

“No, Emperor,” replied Wen Yiji. “I do not wish for a reward from you. If you are a good Emperor, your citizens will stand by you in times of crisis. If you are a bad Emperor, no one can help you.”

The Emperor sensed that Wen Yiji was not only unafraid of him, but also did not like him. “Do you think I am a bad Emperor?” he asked.

“Let’s just say that you have lots of room for improvement!” replied Wen Yiji.

“How dare you imply that my rule is bad!”

“And another thing…..you don’t take criticism very well!”

“Oh!” gasped the Emperor. “I’m sorry. Am I really that bad?”

“Some of your ministers are corrupt. There is a General Shin selling state secrets to settle gambling debts. A few of your princes go around fooling with other peoples daughters. You stay in your palace all day and listen to reports that tell you that everything is all right. The Yellow River has flooded the plains and you are here listening to music. Tell me, Emperor, do you think that you a good Emperor?”

The Emperor was stung into silence.

Wen Yiji got up to go.

“Wait!” cried the Emperor. “Is my fifth son dead?”

“I do not know,” replied Wen Yiji. “He managed to elude the foreign assassins. But no one knows if he is still alive.”

With that Wen Yiji leapt into the darkness and pulled out the needle at his collar bone area. Shrouded in invisibility, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he waited around to see what the Emperor would do.

A young boyish eunuch, bleeding from the nose, stumbled in through the door and knelt down in front of the Emperor.

“Emperor,” he cried. “You are all right! The gods smiled on you!”

“What is the status outside,” asked the Emperor weakly.

“Many of the men out there have died,” replied the eunuch.

“What?” cried the Emperor. “Are there any survivors?”

“Emperor,” said the eunuch in sorrow. “The only survivors are those who were behind the back row. Those seated in front are all dead! Including the royal princes!”

“My children!” cried the Emperor. “Not my children!”

“What do we do, Emperor?” asked the young eunuch.

“Gather my Palace Guards. I want to have Prince Jin brought to me for questioning! Where is Eunuch Lam? He was in charge of tonight’s affair.”

“Eunuch Lam is dead,” replied the young boyish eunuch.

“How many Royal Concubine Lins do we have?”

“I do not know, Emperor. The list of concubines is kept by the senior eunuchs.”

“I want that list. Wait a minute……the Green Gate Inn! I heard the assassin say that he had disciples staying at the Green Gate Inn! I want a team of men to go to the Green Gate Inn and bring me every person there for interrogation. I must get to the bottom of this conspiracy!”

Wen Yiji had heard enough. “I have better get to the Green Gate Inn first if I wish to kill the Flute Master’s disciples!” he muttered. “Before the Emperor gets his hands on them!”

More men were entering the hall. He got out of the hall to the open space outside where the Flute Master had wreaked most of his havoc. There, he saw the injured trying to pick themselves up. He looked up at the night sky where the moon was full and round. Even with the death of the Flute Master, he sensed that his fighting days could be far from over. Hurriedly, he left the Summer Palace.

Chapter 22: The night of the full moon

The Seventh Prince was hiding restlessly in his room when the music recitals started. Tension filled him to the brim and he wondered if Chui La Pah was really able to kill with his flute as Sun Cheong claimed. When he suddenly felt a slight unexplained vibration of evil in the air, he somehow sensed that it was the Flute Master's doing. He did not hear anything. He only experienced a sudden feeling of unease. As he was far out of range of the Devil Flute, he had nothing to worry about. Closing his eyes, he settled down in his hiding place to allow the Flute Master to kill his family off for him.

After a while, he heard people shouting in the distance. The evil vibration was no more.

"Everybody has already died!" he thought. "That must be the shouting of soldiers discovering the dead bodies. I am the new Emperor! Yes!"

He waited for a while, just in case the Flute Master was still around. Then, when he felt that it was safe to do so, he got out of the room and made his way to the courtyard cautiously.

A soldier hurried by and the prince stopped him.

"What is happening?" asked the prince.

"Oh, Prince!" said the soldier. "You are alive!"

"Of course I am alive! Now tell me what is going on!"

“Prince! There has been a terrible calamity at the Full Moon party! There was an assassin who came with a flute. Almost everybody there died! The only survivors were some concubines and eunuchs who were at the back row!”

“That's not a calamity," thought the prince to himself. "So I am the Emperor now! The first thing that I will do as the new Emperor is to legalize some banned substances! And I should start collecting my harem. Yes! No girls above the age of fifteen need apply!”

“The other princes all died!” said the soldier.

“I will arrange three days of mourning for them,” said the Seventh Prince.

“Many eunuchs died!”

“I will have the other eunuchs take over their duties.”

“Many of your father’s concubines died!”

“I will personally service those who are still alive.”

“Your father, the Emperor, was the target of the assassin.”

“I’ll better prepare a larger place to house all those concubines.”

“The assassin is dead.”

“I’ll arrange three days of mourning for him as well.”

“What?”

“Oh, okay, thirty days of mourning.”

“For the assassin?”

“No, for my father. Didn’t you say that the Emperor was dead?”

“No, I said that the assassin is dead! The Emperor is now organizing the generals!” said the soldier.

“What? The Emperor is still alive?” asked the prince stupidly.

“Yes!” replied the soldier. “Isn’t that a relief?”

The prince was shocked for a moment. He was too stunned to offer a reply to the soldier. As the soldier rushed off, the raw truth hit the Seventh Prince that he was not the new Emperor. It was a moment before he could compose his thoughts. Then he hurried towards the pavilion where the Full Moon party was held. He had to pass through the great hall on his way. The hall was getting noisy by then as soldiers ran into the hall to try to get a glimpse of the dead Flute Master.

“Dead assassin! Shot in the ear!” shouted one soldier. "In one ear, out the other!"

The Seventh Prince paused in his steps, and then went to take a look. He was shocked at the sight of Chui La Pah, shot from ear to ear. There did not appear to be any wounds on the body as far as he could tell.

“Is this the assassin?” the prince asked a nearby soldier.

“Yes!” came the answer.

“Who shot him?” asked the prince.

“The One Eye Snake!” the soldier replied.

“The what?” roared a disbelieving prince.

“The One Eye Snake!” said the soldier again. “That is what everybody says!”

The Seventh Prince decided that he could not get any decent answers from lowly soldiers. He would have to ask somebody of higher rank. Suddenly, he though of his mother. Quickly he went out of the hall. Under the light of the full moon, he could see bodies on the ground. He ran around the bodies, wondering which one was that of his mother.

“Mother!” he yelled. “Mother!”

“Kau peh kau bu for what? Come over here!” his mother called out. He turned and saw his mother talking quietly to a eunuch in a corner. The Seventh Prince joined them. Under the light of the full moon, he could see that the eunuch was one of his mother’s spies in the palace.

“Eunuch Chua. Tell my son what you have just told me,” requested Concubine Lin.

“The Emperor survived the assassination attempt because he was saved by a masked man called the One Eye Snake, who shot the flutist with an arrow,” said the eunuch in a whisper. “No one knows who this masked man was, but I think he had a short conversation with the Emperor. The masked man disappeared just before the generals from the garrison outside rushed to the hall on hearing sounds of eunuchs wailing. However, before the One Eye Snake left, he informed the Emperor that the assassination attempt had help from inside the palace!”

“No!” whispered the Seventh Prince in pretended shock. “Which lowly traitor could have helped the assassin?”

“We don’t know yet!” whispered back the eunuch. “But I was in the hall when Royal daifus came to help the Emperor back to his quarters to rest. Just before he left, he gave instructions to the generals who had rushed there. The Emperor instructed General Wan to go to the Green Gate Inn and arrest everybody there! The disciples of the flutist are hiding in that inn, it seems. General Tu was instructed to go and bring Prince Jin in for questioning!"

“Oh,” said the prince. “The Emperor suspects Prince Jin?”

“Yes,” replied Eunuch Chua. “The Emperor learned some very strange facts from the One Eye Snake. He wished to learn more, but unfortunately the masked man had already disappeared. The Emperor did not know the identity of this One Eye Snake. He only knew that the man carried a short bow and seemed to know a lot about the plot. The Emperor now has a great desire to talk with the One Eye Snake again, so he delegated the job of finding the unknown person to General Foh.”

“I see,” commented the prince. “And what is General Three doing?”

“There is no General Three,” replied the eunuch. “There are only Generals Wan, Tu and Foh. Not Wan, Tu, Three, Foh.”

“Will you stop asking stupid questions?” Concubine Lin admonished her son. She thanked the eunuch and sent him off.

When the eunuch had gone, the seventh Prince whispered to his mother, “This is bad! The Emperor suspects something!”

“What is so bad?" asked his mother. "You are alive, I am alive, the other princes are dead, Chui La Pah is dead and you are next in line to be emperor! This is good, very good!”

“Ya, hor! But if Prince Jin is arrested, he may finger us!”

"We will have to prevent that! Go to Prince Jin's mansion and tell him to leave quickly! Some of the ministers know that he has a mansion in Shibai. It is only a matter of time before General Tu finds the mansion. Get him safely to our Bamboo Villa. It is secluded. No one knows that it belongs to us. He'll be safe there."

"Yes, and we can have Sun Cheong kill him there!"

"No, we still need Prince Jin to kill off the missing Fifth Prince.”

“His man, Chui La Pah is dead. What can he possibly do now?”

“Prince Jin does not keep all his eggs in one basket. If he employed Chui La Pah, you can bet that he would have killers to take down Chui La Pah if the Flute Master turned disloyal to him. Do not underestimate your uncle! He uses different people for different jobs. Let's keep him alive until the Fifth Prince is killed.”

“Yes, mother.”

“Now that most of the princes are dead, Prince Jin will be tempted to kill you. Before you go to see him, you would be wise to get Master Sun Cheong to accompany you."

"Of course! General Wan is going to the Green Gate Inn. Should we do something about that?"

"No," replied Concubine Lin. "I think the Emperor got his information wrong. Chui La Pah stayed at the Red Lantern Inn, not the Green Gate Inn. Just concentrate on Prince Jin and get everybody to the Bamboo Villa."

"Yes, mother!" said the prince before hurrying off.

The Seventh Prince rode his horse hard and reached the Bamboo Villa at the outskirts of Shibai. He called Sun Cheong and briefed him very quickly on what had occurred at the Summer Palace. Together, they rode to Prince Jin's mansion.

+ + + + + +

Prince Jin was under Phoenix and groaning in pleasure. His eyes were closed and he thrusted upwards to meet each of Phoenix's downstroke. It was their second lovemaking for the day. The second time was even better than the first. Slow and unhurried, they concentrated on making the pleasure last.

A knock came on the door. He did not hear it but Phoenix did. Immediately, she thought that her sifu had returned. Swiftly, she lifted her body off him and his upstrokes were performed on empty air. He opened his eyes to find out why he was pumping the air above him.

“Hey!” he cried. “Where did the pussy go?”

“Someone is at the door!” she whispered.

The knocking came again, louder this time.

“Who the hell is it?” shouted Prince Jin in anger. If there was one thing that he did not like, it was shagus interruptus.

“Master,” a voice at the door shouted. “There are two men at the gate who wish to speak to you. I think one of them is the Seventh Prince! They say that the flute player is dead!”

“What?” gasped a stunned Phoenix.

“What?” gasped a stunned Prince Jin as well. In a rush, he jumped into his clothes and hurried out, leaving Phoenix still dressing.

The two men at the gate were invited in. Prince Jin recognized one of them as his nephew, the Seventh Prince. The other man had a scar on the face and did not look familiar.

“Good evening, uncle,” greeted the Seventh Prince.

“Good evening,” greeted back Prince Jin. “This is unexpected. May I ask what brings you here at this late hour?”

“I bring sad news to you, uncle,” answered the younger prince. “Your man, Chui La Pah is dead. He was supposed to be at the Full Moon party so that he could find out what the princes looked like. Those were your instructions, were they not?”

“Of course!” lied Prince Jin. “He was supposed to just look and do nothing else.”

“Well, he blew on his flute, and the next thing we knew, a lot of people had died, including my brothers.”

“Are you sure?” asked Prince Jin. “If that was true, you would have died as well!”

“Uncle, I was not at the party,” said the Seventh Prince. “I had a hunting accident this afternoon, so I was excused from attending.”

“Oh…..” muttered Prince Jin. “What about your mother?”

“She almost lost her life. Luckily she was not that near to Chiu La Pah when it happened.”

“And the Emperor?”

“Alive as well. His bodyguards rushed him to the hall. Chui La Pah followed and was then killed by an arrow to the head.”

“This sounds so unbelievable! You are not fooling with me, are you?”

“This is too serious a matter to fool with, uncle. The Emperor now knows that you are involved! He has sent men to bring you to him for interrogation. My mother sent me here to warn you to go into hiding while she figured out what to do.”

“You must be drunk. No one knows of my involvement!”

”I am not drunk, uncle. Chui La Pah was killed by a masked man called the One Eye Snake, who informed the Emperor that it was Prince Jin who conspired to have Chui La Pah play the flute at the Full Moon party. The Emperor is now organising the investigation. A team of men have been sent to the Green Gate Inn to bring in Chui La Pah’s disciples for questioning.”

“What masked man? What One Eye Snake? I have never heard of him, and he could not have known that I have anything to do with Chui La Pah being at the Full Moon party. Besides, Chui La Pah and his disciples were staying in the Red Lantern Inn. Not the Green Gate Inn! Your story does not ring true!”

“You think that I would want to come here at night if I did not think that we are in danger? The Emperor is now seeking to question anybody who has anything to do with Chui La Pah. My mother instructed me to get you and Chui La Pah’s disciples to somewhere safe. As long as the Emperor is unable to get a witness to question, we have nothing to fear! It will be the word of the masked man against us. And the good thing is, the Emperor does not even know the identity of the masked man!”

Prince Jin cursed inwardly at the way events had turned out. He was not sure if he could trust the words of the Seventh Prince. It could be a trap! However, he doubt if the Seventh Prince had the mental capacity to even conceive of a trap.

At that moment, Phoenix appeared. Prince Jin introduced her to the Seventh Prince.

“Phoenix,” said Prince Jin. “The Seventh Prince says that your sifu is dead!”

“Sifu dead?” cried Phoenix. “No! Please say that it is not true!”

“Yes, it is true, I am afraid,” said the Seventh Prince. “He played his flute and killed a lot of people in the Summer Palace. But he was killed by an arrow.”

“Did you see his body?” asked Phoenix, testing the prince. “Was it an arrow through the heart?”

“No, it was an arrow to the head,” explained the Seventh Prince. “It went inside one ear and came out of the other ear. There did not appear to be any other wounds on his body.”

“That sounds very far fetched,” remarked Prince Jin.

“No,” said Phoenix in shock. “That was one of the few ways by which my sifu could be killed. My dead husband once told me a secret. He told me that my sifu’s skin was so thick that no arrow could penetrate it. The Seventh Prince could be speaking the truth.”

“The Emperor is now seeking to question the disciples of Chui La Pah,” said the Seventh Prince. “He has dispatched a team of men to the Green Gate Inn. My mother and uncle both told me that Chui La Pah was staying at the Red Lantern Inn. We will have to go to the Red Lantern Inn and get the disciples out of there.”

“Oh no!” cried Phoenix. “My senior brothers, Whiteface and Blackface are staying at the Green Gate Inn!”

“What?” roared Prince Jin. “You all stayed in different inns?”

“Yes, we did!” answered Phoenix.

Prince Jin was stunned into silence for a while. He was now convinced that the Seventh Prince was not bluffing. The situation was bad, really bad. He was supposed to be the new Emperor. Now, he had to fight for survival.

Finally, he said, “We cannot allow any among us to fall into the hands of the Emperor. We will go to the Green Gate Inn and quickly get your senior brothers out of there!”

“And after that, you cannot come back here anymore,” added the Seventh Prince. “Uncle, it is best that the Emperor does not know that you are in Shibai. My mother thinks that some of the ministers may know about this place you have here. It will be a matter of time before the Emperor finds out. Then he will surely send a team of men here to search the place upside down. I have a villa on the outskirts that no one knows of. You can use it as a safe house for the moment.”

Prince Jin nodded. He would need to kill just three more people to become the next Emperor: the Seventh Prince, the Fifth Price and the Emperor. He would have to come up with fresh plans. Meanwhile, he would have to stay out of the Emperor’s clutches. He was a prince. Even his brother, the Emperor, would not move aggressively against him without material proof or human witnesses. It irked him that he needed the help of the Seventh Prince in the mean time.

+ + + + + +

Shi Mei had wandered into Shibai just before nightfall. She was tired and hungry and her horse could use some rest. She checked her finances. There were only a few small pieces of silver sewn in the folds of her clothes. These were her emergency funds. They would not be enough if she had to take a long journey. She did not know where to go or what to do next.

The first two inns that she went to, she discovered that the prices of food and a room were too much for what she could afford. In the darkness, she led her horse in search of a cheaper place to stay. Finally, she gave up.

“It is too dark to go around searching for a cheap place to stay. Looks like I will have to stay at whatever is available,” she thought to herself.

A light on the street beckoned to her. It was an inn that did not look very big. She led her horse there and tethered it outside. Entering the inn, she asked for some food. She decided that she would ask if they had a bed that she could use only after she had eaten. Sometimes, a small inn proprietor would let customers sleep in the kitchen for free.

The food came and she ate. She was hungry and had to resist the temptation to wolf down the food all at once.

Suddenly two men appeared before her. One of them spoke, “This must be the girl that we saw the other day!”

“No, brother Whiteface,” said the other man. “It is not the same girl. This one has slightly bigger breasts!”

“Are you sure, brother Blackface?” asked Whiteface. “They look the same size to me!”

Shi Mei looked up and was shocked to see both Whiteface and Blackface leering at her. She recognized them as the ones who threw her into the pool of the Devil Fish. Coldly, she stared back at them.

“It is the same girl!” declared Whiteface. “I recognize the clothes she was wearing!”

Shi Mei regained her composure and said, “Excuse me……have we met before? I am trying to eat here. Do you mind not blocking the view?”

“Why have you not died yet?” asked Whiteface.

“I do not know what you are talking about,” said Shi Mei, pretending not to know them. “And another thing….I do not talk to strangers.”

“How is it that you are here at the Green Gate Inn of Shibai?” asked Whiteface.

“I am here because I was supposed to meet my sister in this town,” replied Shi Mei. “Not that it is any of your business!”

“Does you sister look like you?” asked Blackface.

“Of course!” she answered. “She is my twin sister.”

“Ahhhh……” said Blackface. “That explains it. Well, I wish to inform you that your twin sister will not be joining you.”

“Why?” asked Shi Mei innocently. “Did something happen to her?”

Whiteface rebuked Blackface, “Shut up! Don’t simply anyhow say things!”

Blackface ignored him and asked Shi Mei, “Miss, I think it will be better if you join me for a meal so that we can get to know each other better.”

“Listen,” said Shi Mei. “I am not that kind of girl.”

“Of course not,” said Blackface. “I am not implying that you are very cheap or anything like that! I am willing to pay good money for a good time.”

“No! Now leave me alone!” said Shi Mei.

“I still think that she is the same girl,” said Whiteface to Blackface. “We will hold her until sifu gets here. Then we will let sifu decide what to do with her.”

“What for?” asked Blackface. “I can decide what to do with her!”

“I am the senior brother here!” said Whiteface. “In sifu’s absence, I decide!”

“You think you are very big, is it?” asked Blackface. He hated to be lorded over by his senior brother.

“Are you going to hold her or not?” demanded an exasperated Whiteface.

“Of course!” answered Blackface. That was something that he had been itching to do. He shot out his hand and grabbed Shi Mei by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

“Let me go!” she yelled.

Two drunks who were imbibing wine at the table at the far end of the dining hall got up. One of them shouted, “Hey, you! Let the girl go! Broad daylight also you do this sort of thing! No shame, arh, you?”

“Mind your own business!” Whiteface shouted back.

Shi Mei screamed, but her scream was cut off by Blackface’s left hand clamped over her mouth.

“Scream one more time and you will find this in your ribs,” warned Blackface. He held a dagger with his right hand. Shi Mei looked downwards. The tip of the dagger was resting against her ribs.

The drunken man shouted again, “Let the girl go! Or you will feel the taste of my Chao Shibai kungfu!”

“What Chao Shibai kungfu?” Whiteface wanted to know.

“The superior kungfu of the venerable Chao family of Shibai!” answered the drunk as he took a fighting stance. He could hardly stand and his wavering stance looked like drunken kungfu.

“Well, Mr Chao,” said Whiteface. “You will be wise to stay out of my affairs……if you wish to continue living!”

“My name is not Mr Chao….hic…..I never said that I was Mr Chao,” said the drunk. “Simply, simply call……you must be slightly obtuse!”

“When you said that you use the kungfu of the Chao family of Shibai, I assume that your name is Chao!” retorted Whiteface.

“You should not assume…..hic…..because when you assume, you make an ass out of you and the Shibai Cave Monster,” said the drunk.

“What has this to do with the Shibai Cave Monster? Stupid drunk!” swore Whiteface.

“You wouldn’t understand even if we explain it to you for a month!” retorted the other drunk. “You are slightly obtuse, remember?”

Whiteface was enraged. “You will remember this day as a day of pain!” he shouted at the drunkards.

He walked towards the two drunks with every intention of kicking their teeth in. The workers of the inn sensed trouble and they went to look for weapons.

At that moment, Wen Yiji arrived at the Green Gate Inn. He wanted to just go in, kill Chui La Pah’s disciples and get out quickly before the Emperor’s soldiers arrived. He was about to enter the inn when he saw what was happening inside. Quickly, he backed out again. He had noticed that Blackface was holding some unknown girl hostage, and he had heard Whiteface threatening the two drunks. The girl looked somewhat familiar, but Blackface had his left hand clamped over her mouth so he was unable to see her face.

“It looks like a hostage situation!” he fumed. “Chui La Pah’s disciples are up to no good again! I cannot wait all night for them to resolve this. Soldiers may be coming soon and that could complicate matters. Looks like I will have to resolve this situation immediately. Let’s see……the first rule to resolve a hostage situation is to remove the hostage. Should not be a problem.”

Switching to invisibility mode, he leapt into the inn, flipped into the air and landed in a crouching position just in front of Blackface. Blackface heard something landing in front of him but was not sure if he was hearing correctly.

Whiteface was getting ready to give the two drunks a beating of their lives.

One of the drunks took up a kungfu stance and shouted, “Behold the Chao Shibai kungfu! Wee wung wung……..wee wung wung ….. wee wung wung …..”

Wen Yiji reached out suddenly and gripped the right hand of Blackface that was holding a dagger to Shi Mei’s ribs. He pulled the hand away and twisted it with a sudden powerful jerk thus breaking Blackface’s wrist in the process. Wen Yiji snatched the dagger away and then plunged it downwards to the right foot of Blackface. The dagger penetrated the shoe and sliced away the big toe inside.

“Ooooowwww……” howled Blackface.

With a quick movement, Wen Yiji withdrew the dagger, turned his body and threw the dagger at the ass of Whiteface. The dagger flew true, but Whiteface was alert. He sensed a projectile heading towards his ass from behind. He swung his ass out of the way just in time. The flying dagger flew passed him and landed on the wooden wall noisily.

“Wee wung wung…..wee wung wung……” chanted the drunk incessantly, still in his Chao Shibai kungfu stance.

“Who threw that dagger?” demanded Whiteface in fury as he turned around. He saw Blackface clutching his broken wrist with his other hand. He looked at Shi Mei.

“Who threw that dagger?” Whiteface repeated.

Shi Mei impulsively pointed her finger at Blackface. The whole action had happened so fast that she was not sure what had actually took place. Then she realized that Blackface was no more holding on to her. She took the opportunity to move away from her captor.

“Oh, no, you are not escaping!” shouted Whiteface to Shi Mei. He leapt up high with lightness kungfu towards her. However, Wen Yiji stood up suddenly and reached out to grab one of Whiteface’s ankles as he was flying overhead.

Wen Yiji pulled downwards and Whiteface was sent crashing down hard on one of the tables.

Praaaaaaammm!!!!!

Whiteface felt his breath knocked out of him.

“Wee wung wung…….wee wung wung….” continued the chanting of one of the drunks.

Still holding onto Whiteface’s ankle with a viselike grip, Wen Yiji swung the body in the air around him as if he was swinging a hammer. Whiteface knew that he was being held by some powerful force. He kicked out instinctively with his free leg but he only managed to kick empty air.

Whaaaaammmm!!!!!

Wen Yiji brought the body hammering down hard on the edge of another table. The blow broke the table into two. This time, Whiteface felt several of his bones breaking.

Wen Yiji was not through with Whiteface yet. He intended to break every bone on Whiteface’s body. Swinging the body round and round, he used it to break the tables in the inn.

Whaaaaammmm!!!!!

Whaaaaammmm!!!!!

Whaaaaammmm!!!!!

Whaaaaammmm!!!!!

Whaaaaammmm!!!!!

Blackface stared in shock at what was happening to Whiteface. It looked like his senior brother was crashing into tables randomly. There was a flash of what looked like a pair of legs in between the tables but he could not be sure. Something was not right and he was not going to hang around to find out what it was. He leapt out of the window and made his escape. The workers of the inn hid themselves when they saw the strange manner by which Whiteface kept crashing into the tables.

“Wee wung wung…….wee wung wung….” chanted the drunk with gusto.

"Hey!" cried the other drunk. "Your Chao Shibai kungfu is really great! Hic! It is beating the crap out of him by remote control! Hic! However, I think you had better stop before you kill him with your wee wung wung!"

"All right!” replied the Chao Shibai kungfu exponent. “We Chao Shibai kungfu people don't want to take unfair advantage on those who cannot fight!”

Whiteface lay unmoving on the floor and Wen Yiji turned his attention towards Blackface. However, Blackface was gone.

“Fairy Magic!” gasped Shi Mei when she saw the pair of legs without a body. Wen Yiji turned towards her voice and he had a shock. He leapt up to the table nearest to her, crouched on top of it and took a better look.

“Shi Mei?” he asked softly.

“Brother Wen?” she asked back. “You are alive!”

“Yes! Tell me that you are truly alive!”

“I am truly alive, but I can’t see you!”

“There are people here. Let’s go outside!”

With great excitement, they went out of the inn. Once outside, Wen Yiji turned visible and held her. In the light of the full moon, she hugged him back.

“I thought I would never see you again,” he whispered. “The past two days have been the most painful days of my life!”

“I knew you did not fall into the pool, brother Wen. I kept myself alive in the hope that we could meet again in this life. The stars have been kind to me!”

“Shi Mei,” he whispered.

She nuzzled in his body, contented to know that he was near.

The sound of dogs barking put Wen Yiji on alert again.

“Shit! They are here already!” he breathed.

“Who?” she asked.

“Soldiers! They are here to arrest everybody in this inn. We had better move! I’ll explain later!”

“My horse! Let’s get my horse first!” said Shi Mei. Quickly, she untied her horse and climbed on top. Wen Yiji climbed in after her. As they rode away, he removed the needle from his collar bone area and turned semi invisible. Shi Mei was within his envelop of invisibility, so her body could not be seen as well.

General Wan, who was leading the soldiers, saw a riderless horse coming out of the gates of the Green Gate Inn. The horse looked like there were human legs pasted to its sides.He thought about giving chase, but decided against it. He had an important job to do and he was not going to be distracted by some strange looking riderless horse galloping away in the night. Quickly, he had his men surround the Green Gate Inn.

Wen Yiji navigated the horse towards the Small Shibai Inn where he was staying. Shi Mei’s ass was nestled against his crotch and he felt himself getting hard. The movement of the horse made him rock his crotch against Shi Mei’s ass in a dry humping fashion. Shi Mei felt his hardness and she smiled in the night. She was a daifu’s daughter, so she knew what the hardness was.

“Shi Mei,” he breathed into her ear. “We will have to leave town tonight! There was a failed assassination attempt on the Emperor just now. By morning, the whole place will be crawling with soldiers!”

“Oh, okay, brother Wen,” she replied, feeling his hardness banging into her ass again as she spoke.

On reaching the Small Shibai Inn, Wen Yiji entered his room through the window and took all his stuff to the carriage. Then he hitched his horse to his carriage. Shi Mei’s horse was tethered to the back of the carriage by a length of rope. Together, they made their way quietly out of town. They could hear dogs barking away and so they knew that there must be a lot of men moving about in the night.

As they were leaving, a window in the inn closed. Red Wind had not been able to sleep. He wondered why the dogs were noisier than usual. And he wondered why anyone would want to leave the inn when it was not yet daylight. It was none of his business, so he settled down in his bed again.

By the time Prince Jin and his men reached the Green Gate Inn, they found that General Wan’s soldiers had already sewn up the place. Keeping to the shadows some distance away, Prince Jin observed the happenings at the inn.

“I hope that my two senior brothers managed to get out!” said Phoenix.

A voice nearby said, “I managed to get out, but Whiteface is still in there!”

“Who is that?” asked Phoenix, looking for the man whose voice she heard.

“It is I, Blackface,” answered Blackface, emerging from the shadows. “Whiteface got into a fight with some people and he got beaten up by some wee wung wung kungfu!”

“Brother Blackface,” cried Phoenix. “Sifu is dead!”

“What?” cried Blackface. “What happened?”

“The Seventh Prince said that sifu went to the Summer Palace and killed off a lot of people. He was then killed by an arrow. Now the Emperor is looking for the disciples of Chi La Pah! We have to hide!”

“Do you think that we can get Whiteface out?” asked Prince Jin. “If he falls into the hands of the Emperor, he will tell the Emperor everything he knows about our operation and also how to find the rest of you! Then all of you will not be safe!”

“General Wan’s men are reputed to be good fighters,” remarked the Seventh Prince. “It will not be easy to rescue Whiteface.”

“Then we will have to kill Whiteface to prevent him from talking!” said Prince Jin.

Phoenix kept quiet. With her sifu dead, Whiteface would become the next chief of the Green Scorpion Sect. She did not relish the idea of marrying Whiteface.

Blackface too, kept quiet. With Whiteface dead, he would become the next chief of the Green Scorpion Sect. Then he would marry Phoenix.

“Silence means consent,” remarked Prince Jin. He then gave an order to his men.

In the Green Gate Inn, everyone in there from the proprietor to the drunks, were tied with their hands behind them. They would be marched to the Summer Palace for questioning.

“You better let us go or I will use my Chao Shibai kungfu against all of you!” threatened the drunk.

General Wan slapped the drunk across the face. “That is for using rude language in my presence!” he admonished. “I have spent a few years in the Fujian Province and I know what that means!”

The drunk started his “wee wung wung” chanting again but was rudely cut off when the soldiers gagged him forcefully.

The general examined the body of the inert Whiteface. He was amazed at how someone could have so many broken bones in the body and still not die. Broken bones or not, orders were orders and Whiteface would be brought to the Emperor for questioning as well.

“You are more dead than alive. Are you the disciple of Chui La Pah?” asked General Wan.

Whiteface stared back at him impassively. His whole body was a sea of pain, but he understood what the general was saying. He was not going to answer a single word. He did not know why he was being taken prisoner, but he was sure that he would be rescued.

Whiteface could not walk, so his body was strapped onto the back of a horse. As a soldier was leading the horse slowly away from the inn, three arrows came out of nowhere and slammed into the body of Whiteface. As the arrows pierced his body, Whiteface knew that he was not being rescued. He cursed mentally at all and sundry as he died.

Chapter 23: The Eighteen Immortals

Prince Jin was furious by the way that things had turned out that evening. Instead of becoming the new emperor-to-be, he now had to fight to ensure his survival. One false step would be the end of him. However, the game was not over yet.

“Are there any loose ends that we have not thought of?” asked the Seventh Prince. “Any of your men still unaccounted for?”

“Just one,” answered Prince Jin. “One of my men, Red Wind, is staying at the Small Shibai Inn. He usually travels with me. If the Emperor’s troops find him, they will know that I am in Shibai.”

“We should go and get him,” remarked the Seventh Prince.

Prince Jin nodded. They hurried to the Small Shibai Inn and one of Prince Jin’s men was sent in to get Red Wind out. Red Wind was surprised to see Prince Jin waiting outside the inn in the shadows with a group pf people.

“What is happening?” asked Red Wind.

“Don’t ask questions! Just follow me!” snapped Prince Jin.

Together they made their way to the Bamboo Villa in the outskirts. Blackface hobbled along with his injured foot. His sliced off toe was still inside his shoe and he was trailing blood. Finally, it became too painful to walk and one of the men had to carry him.

At the Bamboo Villa, the Seventh Prince pointed to Master Sun Cheong and told everybody, “Ah Cheong is in charge of this Bamboo Villa. Should you have need of anything, please ask him.”

Blackface had been with Chui La Pah when the Flute Master defeated Sun Cheong. However, he now did not recognize the face of Sun Cheong because it had been scarred. Sun Cheong quickly allocated sleeping arrangements for everybody. Blackface had his foot looked at by someone in the villa. He had a shock on seeing his foot missing a big toe. He muttered curses as the foot was bandaged.

As the men were settling in, the Seventh Prince had a short conversation with Prince Jin and Phoenix in the hall. He told them, “Now, the only thing left to do is to find the One Eye Snake and get rid of him!”

“Who is this One Eye Snake?” asked Phoenix.

“We do not know,” replied the Seventh Prince. “Even the Emperor does not know. However, he appeared to know a lot about the affairs of Prince Jin. He told the Emperor that Prince Jin was involved with the assassination attempt and had help from inside the palace! Now the Emperor wishes to talk to him. General Foh has been given the task of finding him. We do not know how much that the One Eye Snake knows, but if he is found, then I bet that we will all be in big trouble!”

“It is of utmost importance that we kill off the One Eye Snake before he can be found by General Foh,” remarked Prince Jin.

“How are we going to kill him?” asked Phoenix. “If he can kill sifu, then he obviously has superior kungfu. Perhaps he can’t be killed!”

“There is no such thing as a man who cannot be killed,” remarked Prince Jin. “All I need to know is the location where he is and then I will arrange for him to be killed.”

“Who will you send after him?” asked Phoenix, mystified. “Who is good enough to do the job?”

“The Eighteen Immortals,” replied Prince Jin. “They can hunt down any man and get rid of him.”

“The Eighteen Immortals?” asked Phoenix in awe. “How are you going to hire them?”

She had heard of the legendary Eighteen Immortals. They were a much-feared shadowy group of vicious spearmen on horses. They seldom killed, but when they did, their prey was usually some top kungfu master that could not be killed by others. Once a kungfu master got on the hit list of the Eighteen Immortals, there would be no escape. The prey always ended up perforated and then dismembered. The Seventh Prince too, had heard of the Eighteen Immortals.

“I have heard that the Eighteen Immortals cannot be hired,” said the Seventh Prince. “They have no master. Nobody knows why they kill. But when they do, the result is already guaranteed.”

“They are already here, camped outside Shibai and ready to do my bidding,” said Prince Jin. “I have known them for a long time and they have promised to do one kill for me. Now all we need to know is how to find this elusive One Eye Snake!”

The Seventh Prince was surprised. Why would the shadowy Eighteen Immortals be camped outside Shibai? His uncle must have some unknown plans for them. Now, with the Flute Master gone, his uncle would use the Eighteen Immortals against the One Eye Snake.

“How are we going to find this One Eye Snake?” he asked. “If only we know what he looks like. The only thing that we know about him is that he has a short bow.”

“Short bow? Did you say that he has a short bow?” asked Phoenix.

“Yes,” said the young prince. “Have you seen one?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Two days ago, my sifu killed a young carriage driver who was travelling with a woman. We checked his carriage and found a short bow. But we left it alone.”

“If your sifu had already killed him, then he could not have been the One Eye Snake,” noted Prince Jin.

“That is true!” agreed Phoenix.

At that moment, Red Wind came into the hall. He looked at Phoenix and smiled.

Phoenix smiled back. “Brother Red Wind!” she called. “Have you seen anybody in town with a short bow?”

"Funny that you should ask,” he replied. “There was one such person staying at the Small Shibai Inn. He had a short bow. More suitable for a boy than a man. I saw him leaving the inn just before sundown and I assumed that he was going to do some night hunting.”

“Who was this man?” asked Prince Jin excitedly.

“I don’t know,” answered Red Wind. “Some small time travelling trader, perhaps.”

“Perhaps we can send some people to the Small Shibai Inn to see what kind of qualifications this person has,” suggested the Seventh Prince.

“I don’t think he is there anymore,” said Red Wind. “At the inn, my room had a window that opened out to the back where the horses were kept. I could not sleep, so I looked out of my window. I saw the man with the short bow in the moonlight hitching a horse to his carriage. It was strange that anybody would leave an inn at night. Even with the full moon, travelling would not be easy. That man must be crazy. Definitely crazy.”

"Goinng out to hunt just before sundown. Then leaving the inn in a hurry. That sounds like the man we are looking for!" cried Prince Jin excitedly. “Can you recognize his face if you see him again?”

“I never saw his face,” replied Red Wind. "I saw only his back the first time he walked past me with his short bow. The second time I saw him, it was night and the moonlight was not bright enough for me to see his face clearly. Anyway, it was not my business if he wanted to carry a short bow."

"You never saw his face? Oh no!" said Phoenix. "Do you know which direction he went?"

"Well, I commented about the short bow to the inn waiter and he told me that the man was asking about the road conditions to the south. So I guess he must be heading south," replied Red Wind. He enjoyed looking at Phoenix. She had nice curves. He gave her a broad smile.

Prince Jin noticed that Red Wind was paying close attention to Phoenix. He said coldly, "Don't you have something to do? Leave us."

Red Wind bowed and left.

"That man has served you for many years. Yet you don't appear to trust him, do you?" the Seventh Prince asked his uncle.

"No," replied Prince Jin. “Red Wind is useful in some ways. However, he sometimes asks too many questions."

“Why do you keep him around you then?” asked the younger prince. “Because of his fighting skills?”

“His fighting skills are good, but not good enough to take down a top kungfu master,” replied Prince Jin. “His specialty is in lightness kungfu. Thus he is able to get to places that some of my other men cannot. I use him to run errands for me mostly. He is quite reliable when used in that manner.”

Phoenix listened quietly at the side. She had been intimate with both Red Wind and Prince Jin and she mentally compared their vast difference in character.

The Seventh Prince then said, "Now that we know that the One Eye Snake is heading south in a carriage, he should be easy to find. There is only one road south from Shibai. A carriage will not be able to travel very fast. A team of fast riders should be able to catch up with our quarry before sundown tomorrow."

"You are right,” said Prince Jin. “I will send the Eighteen Immortals after him in the morning. There cannot be that many carriages travelling along the south road. But if for some reason, the man manages to elude the Eighteen Immortals, then I want to know about it fast. I need to have some means of communications set up along the route.”

“Pigeons,” remarked the Seventh Prince. “I have a roost of homing pigeons here. I will have a man follow the Eighteen Immortals with a cage of pigeons. Whether the Eighteen Immortals succeed or fail in their mission, a pigeon should bring the news to us.”

Prince Jin instantly became wary. His young nephew was much more prepared than he had anticipated. He would have to be careful, very careful. A wrong move would mean the end of his ambitions.

A swordsman was called to the presence of the Seventh Prince.

“This swordsman here is called the Birdman,” said the young prince to his uncle. “He will be responsible for sending news to us along the way. Please instruct him what to do.”

“Good,” said Prince Jin as he addressed the Birdman. “You will follow a group of spearmen south in the morning. Their job is to kill a man known as the One Eye Snake. Your job is to send news to us using your pigeons on whatever happened. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” replied the Birdman. “But what if the One Eye Snake kill your men?”

“Then you will follow the One Eye Snake to let us know the direction that he is heading,” answered Prince Jin. “Your job is only to observe from afar and send us news. You are to protect your homing pigeons and take no part in the fighting. Is that clear?”

“Yes,” replied the Birdman. “My job is only to observe and send news. I understand perfectly.”

“Good,” said Prince Jin. He dismissed the Birdman and then told the Seventh Prince. “We will get the One eye Snake before General Foh. If General Wan cannot find the disciples of Chui La Pah, General Tu cannot find me and General Foh cannot find the One Eye Snake, then the Emperor will not be able to do much to prevent us from carrying out the next stage of our plans.”

“Of course!” agreed the Seventh Prince. “But I must get back to the Summer Palace before I am missed.”

“Tell your mother to await my good news,” said Prince Jin.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji looked at the sleeping form of Shi Mei sleeping in the carriage. She was exhausted but not dehydrated. They had stopped the carriage about ten li from Shibai and parked the carriage beside a shallow stream. He decided that they would cross the stream only in the morning. During the carriage ride, they had exchanged stories on what had happened to them during the past few days.

Looking at her, Wen Yiji marveled at the manner that she had escaped from the dangers she had been in. Not many people would be able to escape from the Pool of the Devil fish. On top of that, she could have discovered the final resting place of the last of the mythical ten white beasts. It was an amazing story. He thought back at the time when he first met her near the Yellow River. A smile crept to his face as he remembered how she had poked the ass of his horse with three acupuncture needles.

“Zheng Shi Mei,” he murmured. “You are truly one of a kind!”

Quietly, he settled down cross-legged to do a spot of meditation.

In the morning, he woke up to find himself curled up against Shi Mei inside the carriage. Her hand was somewhere between his legs. Heck, he had forgotten that he should put on two pairs of underwear when Shi Mei was around. In her sleep, she moved her hands. He stiffened and remained unmoving.

Some time later, she got up, stretched herself and then realized where she was.

“Good morning, brother Wen,” she greeted as she turned around to look at him. She could not see him fully as he was half invisible.

“Good morning,” he responded. “Did you have a good sleep?”

“Yes,” she replied. “But I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that I was going to start training on my swordplay. So I tried to pull out a sword from the scabbard. I grabbed the handle of the sword and pulled at it, but try as I might, it would not come out from the scabbard.”

“Maybe it was not the handle of a sword that you were grabbing,” he suggested, glad that he was semi-invisible and so she could not see his morning erection.

“Oh, it was a sword handle all right. I pulled…then I pushed….then pulled….then pushed. My hand was like going up, down, up, down, up, down all the time. I must have been doing that for a hundred times but the handle remained stuck. So odd! I wonder what the dream meant!”

“It meant that a couple more pulls and a solution would have emerged spontaneously,” mumbled Wen Yiji, grinning naughtily in his shroud of invisibility.

“I have the feeling that the dream is related to something important,” she said. “Really important!”

“Never mind. Wait a while for me to find the acupuncture needles so that I can turn fully visible,” he said. He wanted to delay doing that as he wanted to wait for his erection to subside before turning visible.

“Okay,” she responded. “Brother Wen, can you concentrate on your ribs area on your right? Just under the second rib from the bottom, you should feel an energy that does not appear to move.”

Wen Yiji concentrated for a while and then he said, “Goodness, you are right! How do you know that?”

“Describe its shape to me, please.”

“It is round. I can feel it.”

“I would like you to mentally twist it,” she instructed.

“How?” he asked in puzzlement.

“Just mentally will it to turn as if you are actually turning it.”

Wen Yiji did as was told. Then he asked, “What is suppose to happen?”

“Did you do as I asked you to?”

“Yes I did.”

“Hmmmm…….now turn it the other way.”

“You mean as in the opposite direction?”

“Yes, done it.”

There was a silence as Shi Mei looked at where Wen Yiji’s torso was supposed to be.

“Are you sure that you are really twisting that ball of energy?” asked Shi Mei.

“Ball? What ball?” asked a perplexed Yiji. “It is more like round mushroom shape.”

“Mushroom shape?” asked Shi Mei. “Mushroom shape…mushroom shape…..the dream….there was a mushroom shape thing on top of the handle that I was trying to pull. Yes. Okay, brother Wen. I want you to mentally pull up that mushroom shape. Pull it upwards!”

There was a pause.

“Done that,” said Yiji. “Now do you mind telling me what it is all about?”

“In a moment,” said Shi Mei, still staring at the semi-invisible man. “Now let’s try pushing that energy downwards.”

Wen Yiji sighed but he did as Shi Mei instructed. He turned fully visible the next moment, much to his astonishment.

“Whoa!” he cried. “What happened?”

“It worked! Yes! Yes!” cried Shi Mei excitedly. “I knew the wierd dream must mean something!”

“I don’t understand! What did I do?” he asked.

“You have found a way to turn your visibility back on without using an acupuncture needle!” exclaimed Shi Mei excitedly. “Now try to become invisible again!”

“How?”

“By mentally willing it upwards as if you are pulling on it.”

He did as instructed and immediately he turned semi-invisible again.

“Hey!” he exclaimed. “This thing works both ways! You are a genius!”

“I know! I know!” she beamed in uncharacteristic fashion. “Try it a few more times and see!”

Wen Yiji excitedly turned his visibility on and off several dozen times while Shi Mei watched. He was ecstatic. Finally, the curse of invisibility was possible to control!

Seeing how happy he was, Shi Mei felt contented.

“That mushroom of energy is like a switch. A push-pull switch. Push to ‘on’ your visibility. Pull to ‘off’,” she explained. “It’s an ON/OFF switch.”

“An ON/OFF switch!” he said excitedly. “I do not know what that term means, but it works! How did you know what to do?”

“The Ghost Ninja,” she explained. “While I was treating him for sleep disorder, I felt his energy pattern. I knew that it was somewhat different from the energy pattern of other people. It was while I was falling towards the Pool of the Devil fish that a flash came to me. He had a sphere-shaped still energy beneath the second rib. I sensed that it must somehow be connected to the ability to turn his visibility on and off. If he had a sphere of energy beneath the second rib, I reasoned that you would have one too!”

“But mine was mushroom shaped!”

“That is correct!” explained Shi Mei. “You had the ability to turn only half-invisible. So your energy pattern there would be a hemisphere instead of a full sphere! And a hemisphere is roughly the shape of a mushroom head! My initial idea was that you should try to twist that energy. When that twisting action did not work, I remembered the dream that I had when I was pulling at the sword handle. In my dream, I had felt a mushroom head at the top of the handle! A nice, big and round mushroom head! And my hand was going up and down. It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps an up-down action might do the trick! And it worked!”

Wen Yiji stared at Shi Mei in wonderment and uttered, “Wa lau eh! Like that also got! You are a genius!”

“Never underestimate the power of dreams!” she laughed happily. “I knew that dream meant something! It felt so real!”

Wen Yiji kept quiet. He did not trust himself to speak. His loins were on fire. If he did not marry her soon, he would erupt. Hurriedly, he got the carriage ready and they resumed their journey.

On passing through a small hamlet, they purchased some food for the journey. At midday, they pulled into the woods by the side of the road to have their lunch.

It was a leisurely lunch. The weather was good and the birds were singing. Nothing else mattered. Wen Yiji showed Shi Mei the flute that he had confiscated from the Flute Master.

“So this is the flute that can kill!” she exclaimed. “It looks quite ordinary.”

“Do not underestimate this flute,” said Wen Yiji. “In the right hands, it can kill. I almost died from it once.”

“If this flute is so powerful, then anyone who gets his hands on it will become a powerful person indeed.”

“That may not happen,” he explained. “The devil sounds that this flute produces will kill off the flute player himself.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I tried playing it myself. I blew a note and then I almost fainted from the devilish sounds!”

“Yet the Flute Master could play it.”

“Yes, he must have some method to suppress the effects of the devilish sounds in his body.”

“You could be right,” Shi Mei nodded. “My theory is that….”

“Your theory will have to wait,” said Wen Yiji. “I need to go to the toilet immediately.”

Wen Yiji walked some distance and found a convenient tree. Standing behind the tree, he peed.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee………

“This is as much nutrition as I can give you,” he told the tree. “Grow well!”

Just as he tied back his pants, he felt a vibration in the air.

“The flute! Some one is blowing the flute! Shi Mei!” he swore.

He rushed to his carriage. Some distance away, he saw Shi Mei lying on the ground.

“Shi Mei! Shi Mei!” he shouted as he sped to the girl. “Talk to me!”

“Stop shouting in my ear, brother Wen,” said Shi Mei weakly. “And you were right. This thing affects the flute player as well! I almost fainted.”

“What do you think you are doing?” he scolded. “This thing can kill you!”

“I wanted to experiment,” she gasped. “I wanted to know how it affects the human body. I think I know now how to block its effects!”

“Well, you are not experimenting any more!” he thundered. “I should destroy this flute!”

“No, wait!” she pleaded. “Don’t destroy it! Who knows if it will come in useful one day!”

“All right,” he growled. “But don’t go near it again!”

He looked around her. There were birds and squirrels that had crashed onto the ground because of the Sounds of Hell from the flute. He said, “I think you had an environmental impact on anything living within several steps.”

“Twelve,” she said. “The range was twelve steps. I know because a bird flew into range and started crashing down. It was as if it froze in mid-flight.”

Wen Yiji watched as the birds and the squirrels picked themselves up from the ground and went along their merry way. It was time that Yiji made a move as well. He tucked the flute in a corner of the carriage and then he resumed the journey with Shi Mei. Except for a slight woozy feeling, she was all right from the experiment.

Some distance behind the carriage, a group of men on horseback were riding fast. The Eighteen Immortals had been mobilized by Prince Jin in the morning. They rode hard and impatiently, raising a cloud of dust behind them. Riding behind them and breathing their dust was the Birdman with his cage of pigeons. He held the cage in one hand as he rode. He was unable to ride as fast as the Eighteen Immortals. Too high a speed would send the pigeons dashing against the walls of the cage resulting in the death of the birds. Thus, the Eighteen Immortals frequently had to stop to allow the Birdman to catch up. They did not like it one bit.

The Birdman stared at their backs and grumbled, “Look at them go. Like a pack of vicious wolves hungry for a kill! There is no necessity to go so fast just to chase after one stupid carriage! Ta ma de.”

Looking at them, he was chilled by their fluid movements. It was as if all eighteen of them moved as one and that they knew what each other was about to do. Master Sun Cheong had warned him not to get in the way of the Eighteen Immortals. He hoped that they would get to their quarry soon.

Meanwhile, the gap between Wen Yiji and his pursuers grew closer.

Chapter 24: The Birdman witnessed a battle

The innkeeper of the Small Shibai Inn bowed low before the Emperor. He and everyone else in the inn had been arrested and then taken to identify the body of the dead Chui La Pah the previous night. Then they had spent the night in captivity until the Emperor was ready to question them,

“Do you recognize the dead man, innkeeper?” asked the Emperor.

“Yes,” replied the innkeeper. “I have seen him in the company of two of my guests, Whiteface and Blackface. They addressed him as ‘sifu’.”

“What about the man whom we found in your premises, the one with three arrows in him?” asked the Emperor.

“That one was Whiteface.”

“How did Whiteface die?”

“I do not know. He and Blackface were harassing a lady patron in the inn last night. Like a pair of cheekopeks. Then suddenly, he was moving violently and crashing into the tables. I had a few tables broken by him. Finally, he crashed down to the floor and stopped moving. He appeared to be badly injured. Not long after that, soldiers arrived and arrested us!”

“This is mysterious indeed. Who shot him with the arrows?”

“He had no arrows in him while he was at the inn, Emperor. Whoever shot him with arrows must have done it while we were being escorted here.”

“I am aware of that! The three arrows in him were not there by accident. Why would anyone want to shoot at an injured man?” asked the Emperor. “Somebody must have shot him in the dark to prevent him from talking!”

“I am just a simple innkeeper, Emperor. I can offer no explanation to yesterday night’s happenings.”

“What happened to the lady patron whom Whiteface was harassing?”

“She disappeared just before the soldiers arrived. So did Blackface!”

“Odd, very odd!” commented the Emperor. “Chui La Pah came here and got killed by a masked man. Then his disciple Whiteface got killed. Blackface disappeared. I want Blackface hunted down. What does Blackface looks like?”

“Blackface has a black face, Emperor. He looks like he spends a lot of time with his face in the summer sun.”

The Emperor turned to General Wan and commanded him to search for Blackface. The innkeeper was led away to help an artist draw out the picture of Blackface. The picture would be copied and pasted on the walls of Shibai later. The rest of the people arrested from the inn were then freed.

The Emperor then summoned Royal Concubine Lin to his presence,

“Concubine Lin,” he said. “Do you have any knowledge of this dead assassin Chui La Pah?”

“No,” answered the Royal Concubine. “I have never heard of him before.”

“I have six royal concubines by the name Lin in this palace. You are the only concubine Lin to have survived.”

“Yes, aren’t I lucky?”

“Lucky indeed,” said the Emperor in an even tone. “In fact you did not want to attend the music session tonight. And when you attended, you wanted to sit in the back row. It is almost as if you knew that I would be attacked!”

“What is your majesty saying?” asked the concubine.

“Of all the princes, your son was the only one who survived the attack,” continued the Emperor. “I find the circumstances too odd to be coincidental. I have been told that you had a hand in it.”

“I do not know what you are talking about,” said the concubine. “If I am accused, then may I know who my accuser is?”

“I was saved last night by a masked man who told me about your involvement.”

“A masked man? My Emperor is willing to believe a man whose identity is unknown and take his word against the word of the Royal concubine whose face is known?” asked the concubine. “I trust that the Emperor is wise enough not to believe the lies spread by unknown persons about this concubine.”

The Emperor was silent. He had no case against the concubine and he knew it. He needed proof. Angrily, he dismissed the concubine who smirked all the way back to her quarters.

+ + + + + +

At the Bamboo Villa, Master San Cheong was pondering his next step. The Seventh Prince had asked him to keep an eye on Prince Jin. It was already past the lunch hour. So far, there had not been any news from the Birdman. Maybe the Eighteen Immortals had not caught up with the One Eye Snake yet. He wondered who the One Eye Snake was.

He was not the only one wondering. Red Wind too, wondered about the One Eye Snake. Walking about the villa deep in thought, he did not hear Phoenix calling him until she was near.

“Red Wind,” said Phoenix. “I called you twice but you did not notice me. You appeared lost in deep thought!”

“Oh, hello, Lady Phoenix,” he said politely. “I am sorry I did not hear you call. Please accept my apologies.”

“No need to be formal, my dear sir,” laughed Phoenix. “What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking whether the One Eye Snake is a match for the Eighteen Immortals,” he replied. “I have heard once that the shadowy Eighteen Immortals have never lost a battle. They fight defensively and use superior tactics.”

“I have not heard much about the Eighteen Immortals,” said Phoenix. “Their movements are secretive. The martial underworld has it that their spears were forged by the famed God of Spears of the Outer Lands. Spears that were so sharp and hard that they could go through a wall with ease! My dead husband once told me that it was possibly the Eighteen Immortals who killed off the famed General Liang!”

General Liang was the most brilliant general in the Emperor’s army. Being young and intelligent, he acquired many envious enemies in the Emperor’s court. Assassin after assassin was sent after him but all were killed because General Liang was fast, extremely fast. It was rumored that he was finally killed by a team of eighteen horsemen, who waylaid him in a secluded place. They fought with him from morning till night, wearing him down until he was too tired to stand. Then they finished him off. The horsemen mysteriously vanished and nobody owned up to the deed.

“You dead husband could be right,” remarked Red Wind. “Few people would be able to kill off General Liang who was noted for his great inner energy. However, the battle does not always belong to the strongest or the fastest. Sometimes it belongs to those who have the longest stamina. Perhaps that was how they killed off General Liang.”

“It is doubtful then to think that the One Eye Snake can stand up to the Eighteen Immortals. We should have news from the Birdman very soon,” she remarked.

“When this is over, I would like to invite you to the nearest waterfall,” he said suggestively.

“You would, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes. It will be fun, I promise!”

She laughed and walked away. She remembered the tryst with him near the Pool of the Devil fish.

As she was walking, Blackface stopped her.

“You should not be talking so much to Red Wind, sister Phoenix,” he said.

“Why not?” she asked defensively.

“I don’t think that Prince Jin trusts him completely,” he replied.

“I was just making polite conversation with him,” she said. “This villa is not very big. You can’t go around avoiding people.”

“I know. When this is over, let us go to a waterfall for some fresh air,” he suggested.

“What?” she exclaimed. “But you just lost a toe!”

“So what? I still have nine more!”

“I’m sorry about your loss.”

“Don’t worry! There is a reason why Heaven gave me ten toes. So that if I lose one, I still got nine left!”

“That is one way of looking at it. You should get some rest. Now hobble off to your bed!”

Blackface left. Walking was an agony for him, but he managed.

Phoenix watched him leave. She was about to go to the garden when Prince Jin happened along.

“Ahhh…..Lady Phoenix,” he gushed. “Isn’t the day hot?”

“Yes,” she replied. “The weather is good today.”

“Nice day for a swim,” he commented. “We should go to a waterfall.”

“Oh no…..now got enough people to fit a mahjong table!” she muttered inaudibly.

“I beg your pardon, Lady Phoenix?”

“Uh…..nothing! Any news from the Birdman?”

“No, not yet,” replied the prince. “But we should have news soon.”

Phoenix excused herself and walked off. She was soon stopped by Sun Cheong.

“Excuse me, Lady Phoenix,” Sun Cheong said with a smile. "About the water......"

“Before you say anything, let me just say that I am not interested in going to a waterfall!” said Phoenix haughtily. She walked off without another word.

“What on earth was she talking about?” asked a perplexed Sun Cheong to himself. “I was just going to ask her if she needed the servants to draw water for her bath. I guess that she does not like water!”

+ + + + + +

The team of riders overtook Wen Yiji’s carriage. One by one each rider turned his head to look at Shi Mei. They rode past the carriage without stopping.

“They are in a hurry,” remarked Shi Mei. “I counted eighteen of them. All with spears. Must be part of some kungfu clan.”

“These are not ordinary spearmen,” noted Yiji. “The manner they ride is different. Effortless and confident.”

A moment later, they were overtaken by the Birdman. He turned his head to look at both of them quizzically. He looked at riders in the distance and wondered why the Eighteen Immortals did not stop. He would have to ask them that during the next time they stop to wait for him to catch up.

“A swordsman with a birdcage riding a horse,” noted Shi Mei after the Birdman had passed them. “I have not seen that before.”

“Something strange is going on!” said Wen Yiji. “But it is not our business.”

Shi Mei looked at him oddly.

“What?” he asked.

“Every time you say that it is not your business, it becomes your business,” she remarked.

“Heaven forbid!” he laughed. “But if for some reason I get myself involved, then I want you to run away and leave the fighting to me. My greatest fear is that my enemies will hold you hostage and that makes it impossible for me to fight at all.”

“Don’t worry,” she smiled. “I will not get in your way. Fighting is not what I was born to do.”

Up ahead, the Birdman finally caught up with the team of eighteen riders as they stopped for him at a clearing.

“Sirs,” he said. “We passed a carriage back there. There was a man there who possibly could be the person whom Prince Jin wanted dead.”

“We know that,” said one of the Eighteen Immortals.

“Then why did you not stop?” asked the Birdman.

“If he is the one whom we seek, then we would prefer to battle him on flat open ground such as here,” answered the Immortal. “It will be more difficult for him to escape. We shall wait for him here.”

“Good,” said the Birdman. “I will go and wait among the trees while you check out the carriage.”

The Birdman rode some distance away to some trees and then got down from his horse. He considered himself to be a decent swordsman. However, he knew that he was not in the same league as the Eighteen Immortals. They were very focused and they took great pains to ensure maximum advantage of the fighting conditions before a battle. He would hate to be their quarry. He did never seen them fight, but he was once told by Master Sun Cheong that the method of the Eighteen Immortals was to wear down their quarry until he was too exhausted to fight. Then they would finish him off leisurely. Even a powerful kungfu master would not be able to keep fighting for days. It was a case of stamina against strength.

The Eighteen Immortals tethered their horses, took up their positions and waited for the carriage.

Wen Yiji found his way blocked by a group of men when he arrived.

“May I know why you are blocking the road?” he asked.

“Please get off the carriage,” instructed one of the Immortals. “Or we will be forced to hurt your lady friend.”

“You must be trying to rob us,” commented Wen Yiji. “Damn! I hate being robbed.”

Six of the Immortals raised their spears, getting ready to throw them. “We are just looking for something. If you are not the one we seek, we will not make life difficult for you,” one of them said. “But if you do not get down, there will be no opportunity to do so later!”

“Are you threatening us?” asked Wen Yiji, flushed with anger.

Shi Mei gripped his arm and said, “We better do as they say. There are a lot of them.”

“All right,” said Wen Yiji. Both he and Shi Mei got down from the carriage and walked away from it. Immediately, one of the Immortals leapt inside the carriage and rummaged around. Soon, he came out of the carriage and held Yiji’s short bow above his head triumphantly.

All eyes turned to Wen Yiji.

“So,” said one of the Immortals. “You are the One Eye Snake! The one who killed off the Flute Master Chui La Pah last night! You thought that you could make the kill and run away! You will not live to see the night!”

“Who are you people? What do you want?” asked Wen Yiji.

“We are the Eighteen Immortals. We have a contract on your life.”

“Who put out the contract?”

“Prince Jin.”

“And what if I tell you that I am not the One Eye Snake?”

“You have the short bow that he uses. That is good enough for us. If we find out later that we have killed the wrong man, then we will have to say sorry.”

“Sorry is no cure.”

“True. Too bad!”

Wen Yiji hurriedly whispered to Shi Mei, “Get ready to run! Use your Water Spider fast horizontal movements to avoid the spears!”

“What about you?”

“I will also use your Water Spider technique!”

“You are not very good at that yet!”

“In that case I will use lightness kungfu or whatever! Never mind about me! If you can run away safely, I will be able to take care of them,” he whispered hurriedly. He was less confident then he sounded. He had heard a bit about the Eighteen Immortals, enough to know that they were dangerous.

“Where shall I run?” she whispered back. “They are everywhere!”

“I will blast a path for you! Get ready to run towards the first man who falls down!”

They had been encircled by the spearmen pointing the spears at them. Wen Yiji knew what would happen next. The circle would draw tighter and tighter until the spears reached the quarry. Wen Yiji knew lightness kungfu. He could leap out of the circle. Not all of the Immortals would leap up after him. There would be pandemonium in the air if they did, as they would probably crash into each other. He wondered what their attacking style was. It was not practical for eighteen people to fight a single man simultaneously. They would only get in each other's way. He expected that they would have a system, or several systems.

The Eighteen Immortals would expect him to leap out of the circle; he knew that. What they might not expect was that he could deliver palm blasts and Shi Mei could evade the spears using her Water Spider technique if there were not too many spears flashing in her direction.. He would have to surprise them.

“Look!” he yelled as he pointed to the sky. “Unidentified Flying Object!”

“We are not falling for that one!” said a bored voice.

“It’s shaped like a naked fairy! With legs apart!” cried Yiji.

Again, nobody looked up.

“Now it’s shaped like a camel’s ass!” continued Yiji.

This time, almost all of the men looked up.

Wen Yiji took the opportunity to palm blast two of the men.

Whammmmmmm!!!! Whammmmmmm!!!!

Both men fell down and Shi Mei immediately ran towards them. It was the break in the circle of men that she needed. The men nearest to the fallen men were not idle. As Shi Mei sped past the two fallen men, she had to swerve to avert a spear thrusted in her direction. Another spear thrust from another Immortal snagged her clothes but she wrenched herself free. Then she was out of the circle of Immortals and running.

Wen Yiji heaved a sigh of relief. As long as Shi Mei was not in immediate danger, he would be able to concentrate on battling the Eighteen Immortals.

A few of the Immortals turned as if to run after Shi Mei. However, they did not. Their goal was the One Eye Snake and they stayed focused totally on their goal. The two men who had been palm blasted started to pick themselves up.

Wen Yiji leapt out of the circle of men with a giant leap using lightness kungfu. Almost immediately, six men leapt after him as one of them shouted, “Triple Dragon formation!”

The other twelve men stayed on the ground but ran in his direction.

As Wen Yiji landed on the ground, he found himself roughly surrounded by the six men who had leapt after him. The remaining twelve men then took up positions behind their compatriots. The Immortals took note of the fact that Wen Yiji was able to do the palm blast. Wen Yiji took note of the fact that they had good lightness kungfu.

“I don’t have a weapon and there are so many of you,” he said. “At least let me have a weapon.”

“What's the point?” asked one of the Immortals. “The result is always the same! Those who are fated to die will die.”

"If that is the case, then I think that all of you are fated to bite each other's private parts and die!" retorted Wen Yiji.

He did not have time to say more. The six men moved in for the kill. Wen Yiji breathed quickly and then he extended his hands.

Whammmmmmmm!!!

He had palm blasted two men down while the other four men's spears were almost reaching him. He stepped aside neatly to avoid two spears and then parried another two spears with his bare hands. The four men flashed their spears violently in his direction, but they inflicted no damage. He was grateful for the rudimentary Water Spider technique that allowed him to mount a rapid evasive defence against the four spearmen. As he parried the spears, he felt the power behind them. The spears were heavier than ordinary spears. A series of flashes of spearheads filled the air rapidly around Wen Yiji. He was kept too busy to deliver another palm blast. A wrong step would end his life. Suddenly, the four Immortals withdrew. The two men who had been palm blasted picked themselves up and dusted themselves. They were sneering contemptuously as if they were used to being palm blasted. The men were tough all right. As the men withdrew, another six men surrounded him.

"Six at a time......they are attacking me in waves," noted Wen Yiji. "Eighteen Immortals, each wave six people, enough for three waves. While one wave fights, another wave gets ready and the third wave rests! Their strategy must be to wear me down by their superior numbers! The worst part of this is that they are so fast that I can just barely fight against four Immortals, let alone six!"

Based on what he had seen on their ability so far, Wen Yiji knew that he was in deep trouble. The enemy would be able to kill him. However, he would kill a few of them in the process. Perhaps that was why they were trying to wear him down; so that they could kill him without taking any casualties. That way, they would not have to train a new Immortal to take the place of the dead.

Wen Yiji employed the same method with the second wave. He palm blasted two men down to take them out of the equation. Then he had to quickly parry and avoid the remaining four spears that were bent on perforating him from all sides. Their well coordinated combinations of spear strikes were deadly and had a great deal of power behind them. The two men who had been palm blasted made no move to join in the fight. There was no hurry. The blast had been painful. They would wait for the pain in the body to subside first and then join in when it was time for them to fight again.

The second wave was replaced by the third wave of six men. It was a quick change, but unhurried. Suddenly, Wen Yiji realized that the Immortals had not yet been fighting at their full capability yet. This was merely a rehearsal for them. They were just getting the measure of their opponent, testing his ability in order to fine tune their tactics to find the best way to overwhelm him. They were probably more concerned that he would find a means of escape. From his experienced eye, it looked like they were containing him and fighting just enough to sap his energy without taking unnecessary risks.

"This is a cunning group! Think of something fast, Wen Yiji!" he told himself. "Soon, they will increase the speed of their changeover of waves and I won't have time even to breathe! Sooner or later, I will make a mistake! Then, that will be the end!"

Taking a deep breath, he leapt skywards to change his location. As he did so, the six men from the third wave leapt after him in response. In the sky, he palm blasted two men out of the air and then he had to fight for his life again against the remaining four spears. He was kept busy avoiding and parrying the spears and, just as before, there was no opportunity to deliver another palm blast.

Shi Mei looked worriedly at Wen Yiji battling from a distance. All she could see was a whirling of spears with Wen Yiji in the centre of the action. She could tell that he was in dire straits as his clothes appeared torn in some places. Some of the Immortals were practically grinning. They had expected a tougher opposition.

The fighting had moved away from the carriage by now. Quickly, she ran to the carriage, reached inside and plucked the Devil Flute from the corner where it had been kept.

Then, she whipped out two acupuncture needles and felt the back of her neck. Swiftly, she located the spots she wanted and pierced the needles in. Instantly, her world turned silent and she could not hear a thing.

“In theory, these needles ought to protect me from the effects of the Sounds of Hell of the Devil Flute,” she thought. “There is no time to test out the theory! Brother Wen could die any moment!”

Hurriedly, she sped towards the Eighteen Immortals while muttering, “Twelve steps! I’ve got to remember that my range is twelve steps!”

When she was close to the men, two of the Immortals heard her and turned around. They held out their spears threateningly as she put the Devil Flute to her lips. She blew a note on the flute and the two men froze. She got nearer and then her sound range enveloped yet another two more men.

Wen Yiji felt the vibration in the air and he instantly knew what it was. There was no time to dwell upon it. The first wave of six Immortals had withdrawn and it was now the turn of the second wave. Two of the men from the second wave were standing within the twelve step radius of Shimei, together with another two men of the third wave. The four of them had a shock when the Sounds of Hell hit them. They felt the pain in their heads and terror in their body at the same time.

Thus, when the second wave of Immortals attacked, only four out of the six men rushed at Yiji. He palm blasted two men down at the last possible moment and then averted the spears of the remaining two men. Fighting against two Immortals was very much easier than fighting against four Immortals. A spear sped towards his eyes and he jerked his head to avoid it. In a flash, he grabbed hold of the spear and jumped sideways to avoid another spear aimed at his feet. He pulled violently at the spear that he had just grabbed and the Immortal at the other end was jerked along towards Wen Yiji. With his free hand, Wen Yiji shot it forward to hit the Immortal with an iron palm. The Immortal held forth one hand to block the blow. The Dark Fire Iron Palm met the iron palm of the Immortal with fatal results.

Booooooooommmmmm!

The Immortal flew backwards violently leaving his spear in the hand of Wen Yiji. It was the first and last time that the Immortal learned not to ever match palms with the Dark Fire Iron Palm. He would never get up again.

The last remaining active member of the second wave was in a good position to thrust his spear towards Wen Yiji’s vulnerable back. He thought that Wen Yiji was as good as dead when the spear reached Yiji. To his surprise, Yiji twisted his body away in time just as the spear tip nicked his back.

Wen Yiji winced in pain, but he was not one to waste the opportunity that Shi Mei had just given him. He knew that he had to rapidly whittle down the numbers if he hoped to get out alive. One of the two men who had been palm blasted was attempting to get up. Swinging the spear that was still in his hands, Wen Yiji brought it down heavily on the head of the unfortunate Immortal.

Kraaaaaackkkkk!!!

He was gratified to hear the skull being crushed. Quickly he whipped around and threw the spear at the other palm blasted Immortal who was groggily picking himself up.

Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!!

The spear penetrated the back of the man all the way through the front.

“What a spear!” Wen Yiji remarked.

Quickly, he breathed and took stock of the situation. Three Immortals had died within the time it took a normal man to take two breaths. He could see Shi Mei moving in the background blowing her flute with four Immortals near her. Two of the Immortals were holding their ears while the other two moved drunkenly and tried to hit her with their spears. However, she evaded their spears easily while making sure that she kept all four of them within her twelve step radius. Wen Yiji wondered why Shi Mei did not faint from blowing the flute.

The remaining Immortals were shocked at the way things had turned out.

“Iron Circle Crush!” one of them shouted.

Up to now, Wen Yiji still had no idea who the leader was or what “Iron Circle Crush” meant. However, he was sure of one thing; “Iron circle Crush” was not a name of a cold fruit drink. Swiftly, he picked up the spear of the man whose skull he had just broken and held it aloft. Three Immortals were dead and four Immortals were occupied with Shi Mei’s Devil Flute. That meant that he had to contend with eleven Immortals. That was still a lot, considering that it took only four Immortals to tie him down in battle.

The eleven Immortals encircled him. They were more wary this time. Gone was the idea of attacking safely in waves to sap the energy of their quarry. Now, they would go for an all out kill. If a few immortals lost their precious lives in the process, so be it.

Through some unknown given signal, they suddenly rushed forward. Wen Yiji leapt upwards and then discovered that six of the Immortals had anticipated his action and had already leapt upwards towards him from all sides. He would be skewered in the air.

As he was springing upwards, he threw his spear in a twirling movement, more to cause distraction than to kill and at the same time, he pulled his legs up and then turned invisible. It was a risky move. Momentarily, his world turned dark and he saw nothing. He prayed that none of the spears would pierce him as his eyes adjusted to the lower amount of light reaching his retinas.

The five Immortals on the ground and six Immortals in the air who were converging on Wen Yiji, saw him suddenly vanish from sight. The twirling spear thrown by Yiji was blocked off by one of the flying Immortals and it dropped downwards only to be parried by two Immortals below. The spear fell to the ground but Wen Yiji was not to be seen.

Up in the air, Wen Yiji was floating downwards with lightness kungfu. He had hoped to be able to land far outside the circle of men, but this was not the case.

He landed almost on top of a bearded Immortal on the ground. The Immortal moved forward a step and Wen Yiji fell just behind him. Reaching out with his fingers even as he was landing, Wen Yiji hit a yuedao spot on the back of the Immortal. The bearded Immortal froze, unable to move.

Swiftly, Yiji reached out and grabbed the spear of the Immortal. With a sudden twisting movement, he wrenched the spear from the grip of the bearded man.

“Where is he? Do you see him?” asked a thin Immortal who was standing in front of the bearded man.

Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!!

The next moment, he stared stupidly in the air as a hole appeared at his side. Wen Yiji, hiding behind the bearded man, had speared the thin man through and then pulled out the spear again. The thin man fell over dead.

Quickly, Wen Yiji turned visible so that he could see better. He was sure that once the element of surprise was over, the Immortals would be able to detect him in daylight.

“He’s over there!” a cry went out from another Immortal.

Whaaaaaaammmmmm!!!!

Wen Yiji had hit the back of the bearded Immortal with his iron palm and the man was sent flying forward. He was caught by one of his compatriots.

Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!!

The spear thrown by Wen Yiji speared the bearded man from behind. It went through the body and emerged out the other side to also spear the man who had caught him, thus killing them both instantly.

“They say that one stone can kill two birds! One spear can also kill two men! What a great spear!” remarked Wen Yiji in admiration. “This is awesome, simply awesome!”

Then he turned serious again. There were still eight Immortals facing him.

“When we are through with you, you will wish that you have never been born,” snarled one the Immortals.

“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” commented Wen Yiji.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Nothing. I was just offering sagely advice.”

“That is not even sagely advice.”

“You are right! In that case I was merely making polite conversation!”

Wen Yiji’s remarks enraged the Immortals further.

“Kill at will!” one of them shouted.

“What? Kill at will? No Triple Dragon Formation? No Iron Circle Crush?” exclaimed Wen Yiji. “Come on! You gotta at least give me a Camel Toe Formation! Or even a Papaya Crush!”

With rage in their eyes, the eight Immortals held their spears and charged towards Wen Yiji. He could not possibly fight all eight of them together, so he turned to flee. He saw that Shi Mei was in his path so he tried to move to the right. However, with the Immortals coming up to the right and left of him, he could not change direction.

“Twelve step radius!” he thought furiously. “She said that her flute had a twelve step radius!”

Wen Yiji leapt high. He hoped that it was at least twelve steps high. He sailed high over Shi Mei who was still blowing on the Devil Flute. The four Immortals under her control were by now on the ground, twitching sluggishly like worms in agony, but almost dead.

Five out of the eight men chasing after Yiji leapt upwards after him. However, they did not leap high enough. They sailed right into the effective zone of the Sounds of Hell and experience a sudden excruciating pain.

“Aaaarrrgghhhh” they cried as they lost control of their bodies and started dropping like flies.

Shi Mei paused in her flute blowing and looked upwards. She yelled, “Holy Mother of the Tao! It’s raining men!”

Quickly, she ran out of the way of the falling bodies before they crashed to the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

One of the men crashed down awkwardly and broke his neck. The other four were hurt, but they struggled to their feet. In their pain-filled minds, they knew that it was the girl who was the cause of their agony. Drunkenly, they tried to stab at her with their spears. However, she was very much faster than them with her Water Spider movements and she easily avoided their spears while playing the flute.

The three Immortals who did not enter Shi Mei’s zone of the Sounds of Hell watched their compatriots’ ineffective attempts to spear Shi Mei. They were smarter than the rest as they sensed that there was danger in being near Shi Mei. As far as they could see, there were only seven Immortals left standing; three of them in good fighting condition and another four behaving like lumbering drunkards around the girl.

Wen Yiji had no weapon, but he was prepared to take on the three fighting fit Immortals. He raced around Shi Mei’s circle of devilish sounds to approach the three of them. However, the three sensed that Shi Mei was highly vulnerable and that this could work to their advantage. They spreaded themselves out and held their spears getting ready to throw them.

One of the called out to Yiji, “If you don’t surrender yourself to us, the girl dies!”

Wen Yiji paused in his footsteps. He looked at the three of them. He had no doubt that they could throw the spears. They could probably throw better than he could. He was about fourteen steps from Shi Mei. The three of them were less than twenty steps from Shi Mei.

“You won’t be able to hit her,” he said,

“Trust us, we can!” they insisted.

“She can avoid your spears!” Yiji retorted.

“She is busy trying to avoid the spears of our four compatriots near her!” one of them said nonchalantly. “And besides, she has her back to us! Not only that, we are throwing at three different angles. She may at most avoid one spear!”

“She will parry your spears with her hands,” argued Wen Yiji.

“She does not have the inner strength to do it. We can tell by the way she moves,” came the reply. “Now surrender to us or else she dies!”

Wen Yiji breathed in a controlled fashion. He knew that Shi Mei was in danger. The three men were smart enough not to go near her.

“I do not think that you will throw the spears,” he said. “You may hit your own compatriots! They are lumbering around here and there at the place that you wish to throw. If you kill them, I don’t think they will want to friend you any more.”

“That is a risk that we are willing to take! Now surrender to us!”

“Look! You just want to kill me. I invite you to throw your spears at me! Go ahead!”

“That will not work. You kungfu will allow you to block the spears.”

“And so you choose to threaten the girl instead? You men are worse than rats! There is no honour in what you are attempting to do.”

“We don’t believe in honour! Just shut up and surrender!”

“I am not stupid!” replied Wen Yiji. “If I surrender to you, both of us will die.”

“We are not interested in the girl. We only want you! We will let the girl go!”

“Is that right?” sneered Wen Yiji. “Pardon me, but I don’t trust your words!”

“Why not?”

“Because you have no honour!”

“How can you say that?”

“Simple! You just said that you don’t believe in honour! Your words, not mine!”

The three men glared at him in anger. Finally, one of them said. “Very well! You asked for it! We will be happy to watch you suffer when you discover how impossible it is for you to prevent her death!”

“Yeah….right!”

"You are perhaps thinking that you can palm blast a spear to prevent it from hitting her. But you cannot palm blast all three spears from three different angles!"

Wen Yiji kept quiet. They were right. He could not possibly palm blast the spears. At twenty steps, a good spearman could not miss. And he was sure that the Immortals were better than good spearmen. His palm blast had a range of nine steps, three less than the range of Shi Mei's flute.

A movement caught his eye. The three immortals were already throwing the spears! There was no time for hesitation. Wen Yiji leapt towards Shi Mei. He had dealt with projectiles long enough to sense that the three spears were true towards the target. The pain assailed his body when he flew into the zone of the Sounds of Hell from the Devil Flute. Ignoring the pain, he delivered his best palm blast, not at the spears, but at Shi Mei. Then he fell to the ground in agony.

The travelling blast reached Shi Mei before the spears did. It sent her flying from her position just in time and the three spears whizzed past her harmlessly.

Thud!

Shi Mei dropped to the ground. She had the wind knocked out of her but was otherwise unhurt. Her flute was gone and she did not know where she had dropped it. As she was lying on the ground in a daze, an Immortal, still suffering from the after effects of the Devil Flute, lumbered drunkenly after her and raised his spear. However, Wen Yiji lunged forward and delivered a palm blast in his direction. The blast was weaker this time, but it was enough to send the lumbering Immortal stumbling away by two steps.

“Shit of a dog! My blast power is weakening!” cursed Wen Yiji. The Immortal raised his spear again unsteadily, but Wen Yiji had reached him.

Whaaaammmm!!!

A Dark Fire iron palm strike to the heart sent the Immortal tumbling dead.

Another lumbering Immortal saw Wen Yiji’s back towards him. He thought he saw an opportunity. His legs would not obey him fully yet, but he could throw.

Whoooooosh…………..

“Look out!” gasped Shi Mei from the ground.

Wen Yiji turned just in time to catch the spear thrown at him. He was lucky that the throw was not particularly powerful. With Shi Mei no more playing the flute, the lumbering Immortals were attempting to recover their fighting abilities.

Hastily, Wen Yiji pulled Shi Mei to her feet.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She could not hear him, but she guessed what he was saying.

“I am all right, brother Wen,” she said. “But I dropped the flute!”

“We’ll worry about the flute later,” he said. “Now step aside while I deal with these cockroaches!”

With spear in hand, Wen Yiji sprang towards the three lumbering Immortals who were not yet in serious fighting condition.

Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!! Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!! Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!!

Within one short moment, Wen Yiji had killed all three of them with the spear. There was no serious resistance and it was more an extermination than a fight.

The only ones left standing were the three Immortals who had thrown the spears at Shi Mei. The three of them stared hard at Wen Yiji. Instead of going to search and recover their own spears that they had thrown, they had picked up the spears of their fallen comrades.

“I see that the three of you are not yet dead!” Wen Yiji remarked. “That unholy situation shall be corrected in a moment!”

“We are willing to negotiate!” one of the three Immortals said.

“Negotiate?” asked a bemused Wen Yiji. “There is nothing that you can offer me except your death!”

“You do not understand! We are not negotiating our lives. We are negotiating yours!”

“Say what?”

“In case you have not noticed, the girl has lost her flute and your palm blast has lost its power because you over-exerted! You are weaker than before! The three of us will kill you!”

“The thing that I admire about you is your supreme confidence. But that does not take away the fact that you are all complete idiots!”

“Nobody calls the Eighteen Immortals idiots! Now you will die!”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep!” admonished Wen Yiji.

And then the battle was on. The Immortals were right. Wen Yiji had weakened. The moment that he delivered the palm blast to save Shi Mei while mentally battling the effects of the sounds of Hell, he had overexerted himself. He was still fast, but not as fast as he was usually. He was kept on the defensive, weaving in and out of the spear strikes delivered by the three coordinated spearmen. He shifted his position constantly so that he would not be caught in the centre of the three of them. If he could have a short rest, he would be able to recover his full capabilities and then overpower them. However, they would not allow him the opportunity to recover. Not unless he could get away from them for a while to gather back his Dark Fire inner energy.

He leapt high and turned invisible. The three Immortals saw him vanish into thin air and the spear dropping to the ground some distance away. They rushed to the spear and looked around. Wen Yiji was crouching on the ground some distance away. While he was turning invisible, he had thrown the spear away as a distraction. Even though his invisibility was not perfect, as long as he remained unmoving, they would be unlikely to detect him. Breathing in qi from the air, he focused on his body, getting the qi to flow.

However, the three Immortals were not without ideas. They spotted Shi Mei standing alone. Without a moment’s hesitation, they turned in her direction.

In horror, Wen Yiji watched as they raced towards her. He got up immediately and turned visible while shouting, “Hey! I am here!”

Shi Mei stood her ground unmoving with her hands behind her back. As the three Immortals neared, she moved her hands from behind her back to her lips. There was a flute in her hands. She had found the Devil Flute!

“Oh shit!” muttered one of the Immortals as their momentum carried them towards her. The next moment, their legs refused to move properly as pain assailed their brains. The Sounds of Hell wreaked their havoc on them. For a few moments the three spearmen wrestled with their pain. Learning from the experience of their comrades, they knew that it was useless to attempt to attack Shi Mei. It would be a better idea to escape the Devil Flute. Painfully, they struggled to move out of Shi Mei’s radius of terror.

However, Wen Yiji was ready for them. When he saw that Shi Mei was in control of the situation, he quickly collected three spears from the ground. Keeping just outside Shi Mei’s radius of twelve steps, he took aim. At that distance, a throw could hardly miss.

Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!!

One of the Immortals never made it out of the circle of death as a spear penetrated his chest.

Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!!

Another Immortal went down with a spear in his back.

The last Immortal clamped his hands over his ears. He noticed a spear shooting towards his heart. Feebly, he tried to avoid it.

Shiiuuuuukkkkk!!!

He stared stupidly at the spear sticking out of his chest as he died.

Shi Mei put down her flute and pulled the acupuncture needles from her back of her neck. Wen Yiji rushed to her and held her.

“Brother Wen,” she whispered.

“Shi Mei,” he whispered back. “Thank you for saving my life!”

She clung to him, glad that he was basically unhurt. After a while, he told her, “Shi Mei. The next part will be ugly. I have to make sure that none of the Immortals are alive to haunt us later. It is better that you do not look.”

Taking a spear, Wen Yiji went to every Immortal and pierced each body a couple of times through the heart. Shi Mei saw what he was doing and looked away. Killing was a cold hearted ugly business. Wen Yiji collected the spears and loaded them in the carriage.

“These are very good spears!” he said. “We will throw them into the nearest river so that no one will have them!”

In the distance, hiding among the trees, the Birdman watched quietly as the carriage left the battle scene. Quickly, he wrote a note and tied it to one of the pigeons from his cage. He released the pigeon and the bird flew towards Shibai. It did not take long for the bird to reach the Bamboo Villa.

Prince Jin was drinking tea with Blackface and Phoenix when Sun Cheong brought in a note.

“We have just received word from the Birdman,” he announced.

“Did the Eighteen Immortals find the One Eye Snake?” asked Prince Jin.

“They did!” answered Sun Cheong.

“Did they kill him?” asked Blackface.

“No,” answered Sun Cheong gravely. “He killed them all! Not a single Immortal survived!”

“What?” shouted Prince Jin. “How dare the Immortals die without completing their mission?”

“This is bad!” commented Phoenix. “We are up against a very tough opponent! Where is the One Eye Snake now?”

“Still heading southwards,” answered Sun Cheong as he handed the Birdman’s note to Prince Jin.

“Maybe we should just leave the One Eye Snake alone,” suggested Phoenix. “If he is travelling south, then he will not bother us!”

“No!” said Blackface. “He will be threat to us if the Emperor finds him before we do.”

“It says in the note that the One Eye Snake is travelling with a girl,” remarked Prince Jin. “This Birdman is very good. He gave a very good description of the carriage as well as the horse. I wonder where the girl came from.”

“Probably some traveller he picked up,” suggested Blackface.

“The Birdman did not describe the battle much, but he said that some of the Immortals appeared to move around like drunks!” said Prince Jin after reading the note. “Idiots! What I need are assassins who are serious about their mission. Assassins who cannot die! Do we know of any good killers in the south?”

“Yes we do!” exclaimed Blackface. “Mao shan sifu Ghost Master! He is a Green Scorpion Sect elder and sifu’s good friend. He is a strange man who lives in the Yiu Yiu Guai Guai Temple outside White Mist Village! If we can trick the One Eye Snake to detour to the Yiu Yiu Guai Guai Temple, then the job will be done!”

“How are you going to contact this sect elder, the Ghost Master?” asked Prince Jin.

“By pigeons!” replied Blackface. “Our sect has a secret cell in this town. There, we have pigeons that will fly to the Yiu Yiu Guai Guai Temple! If we send a message now, the Ghost Master can get the message by nightfall. That will give him ample time to make preparations. That is, if he is willing to take on the job.”

“Will he be willing to take on the job?” asked Prince Jin.

“Yes, provided that the price is right!” replied Blackface. “But he will be expensive! Very, very expensive!”

“I will pay him any price he wants,” said Prince Jin. “However, he has to send me the horse and carriage of the One Eye Snake as proof that he has accomplished the job!”

“Don’t worry!” said Blackface. “I assure you that he is trustworthy! But if you want the horse and carriage as proof, then you shall get it!”

“I hope that your Ghost Master is a good fighter,” said Sun Cheong. “Because this One Eye Snake is proving to be a formidable challenge.”

“He is a good fighter, but it is the one that he controls that will do the real fighting,” said Blackface.

“Who does he control?” asked Prince Jin.

“He controls a vampire,” replied Phoenix.

“A vampire?” asked an incredulous Prince Jin. “You want to take on the One Eye Snake with just some hopping vampire?”

“My Green Scorpion Sect elder is a powerful mao shan sifu; the best there is!” explained Blackface. “The one he controls is not just some hopping vampire! It is the thousand-year-old King of Vampires! Very ferocious! No one can hope to control it except for the Ghost Master! And the best part of it is that it cannot be killed because it is already dead!”

Chapter 25: The King of the Vampires

The Ghost Master held the note that had just arrived by pigeon. He read it again. Pursing his lips, he muttered, "This One Eye Snake commands a hefty price! I'll be a fool to pass up the offer!"

"What is it, sifu?" asked one of his disciples.

"We have been engaged to kill a man, a most dangerous man," answered the Ghost Master. "He is a powerful fighter, it seems. But no matter how powerful a man, he will be no match for our King of Vampires."

"When is this supposed to take place?" asked the disciple.

"It is planned for tomorrow,” replied the Ghost Master. "We will have to divert him here. Then we are to immediately send his horse and carriage to the Bamboo Villa in Shibai and collect payment."

"Just the horse and carriage? They don't want his head? Why like that?"

"How should I know?" snapped the Ghost Master. "It's the client's prerogative!"

"Excuse me, sifu. How will we know who this person is? We don't want to kill the wrong man like we did the previous time!"

"Killing the wrong man is a nuisance. If we kill the wrong man, then we will just have to kill and kill until we get it right!" noted the Ghost Master. "The note says that the quarry is being followed by a man with a cage of birds. Someone called the Birdman. I want you to go and contact him. Once he confirms the mark, we will go according to plan. Otherwise, abort."

"What is the plan?"

"I'm coming to it. We will direct the quarry here and slay him with the King of Vampires. No matter how good a fighter he is, he cannot beat what cannot be killed."

The Ghost Master gathered his three disciples and started planning.

+ + + + + +

The next day, the Birdman was following Wen Yiji's carriage at a distance. It was past noon and he was hungry. He wondered when the carriage driver would stop for lunch. Suddenly, a plumpish young man walked out from the bushes and blocked the road. The Birdman reined in his horse.

"Are you the one called the Birdman?" asked the plump stranger.

"Yes," replied the surprised Birdman. "What is it that you want?"

"We have been asked to contact you by a certain Blackface. We need to verify if the One Eye Snake is the one in the carriage up ahead."

"Yes, that's the one," answered the Birdman.

"Good," answered the stranger. "I am a disciple of the Ghost Master. We have been contracted to kill the One Eye Snake."

"My job is just to observe," said the Birdman. "But I can tell you that this man will not be easy to kill."

"That is for us to decide," said the disciple haughtily. "I noticed a girl with him as the carriage passed. Who is she?"

"That, I do not know."

The disciple then leapt up a tree and hoisted up a large flag. Up ahead, a second disciple of the Ghost Master saw the flag in the distance. Quickly, the second disciple blocked the road with branches and put up a sign. A group of villagers appeared by his side.

Wen Yiji reigned in his horse when the carriage approached the blockage in the road. He looked inquiringly at the group of villagers standing there.

"Sir," one of the villagers said. "Please do not proceed any further if you are going south. There has been a strange incurable illness that plagues the next two villages. Everyone that passes through there will go mad and die. We advise you to take an alternative route!"

"Oh," said Wen Yiji. "Is there an alternative route?"

"Yes there is!" said a woman. "If you go down this side path, you will come to a place called White Mist Village. After you go through it, you should be able to rejoin the south road again."

Wen Yiji thanked them and headed down a side path. When the carriage was out of sight, the second disciple of the Ghost Master paid each villager some money. They did not know what the whole thing was about, but were only too happy to take the money.

The Birdman noted that the carriage had been diverted from its route. Carrying the cage of birds, he looked casually at the villagers as he passed them. Then he followed the new direction that the carriage had taken.

By early evening, Wen Yiji had still not reached White Mist Village. As he was passing by an old temple, a temple worker stopped him and ask, "Sir, may I know where you are going?"

"White Mist Village," answered Wen Yiji. "Is it far from here?"

"You won't reach it tonight, that is for certain," said the man. "Also, there is not a single inn around here."

"Oh," said Wen Yiji. "In that case, where do travellers stay then?"

"They usually spend the night in this temple," replied the man. "The abbot does not mind. You can sleep in the great prayer hall."

"I really should not disturb the abbot," replied Wen Yiji.

"You will need water to drink and clean up," said the man. "This is the only place with well water in this vicinity. You will be wise to spend the night here. We do not even require you to make a temple donation. All we ask is that you keep the place clean and tidy."

"Thank you," said Wen Yiji. "We will accept your offer."

The temple worker, who was the third disciple of the Ghost Master then went about his chores.

Wen Yiji and Shi Mei parked the carriage in the temple grounds. Making use of the temple water there, they washed they faces. In order not to inconvenience the abbot, they decided that they would spend the night in the carriage.

When night approached, the Ghost Master gathered his three disciples together and told them, "We have to get the One Eye Snake inside the great prayer hall."

"We can send the King of Vampires to them in the carriage, sifu," remarked a plump disciple. "No need to get them inside the hall."

"No! I will not have the vampire destroying the carriage! The terms of the contract job are that we have to deliver the horse and carriage to Shibai," said his sifu. "This is what we will do. We will invite those two into the prayer hall. Once they are inside, we will lock the door from outside. I will then activate the vampire remotely from outside."

Wen Yiji was inside the carriage when a voice called to him, "Master, the abbot wishes to talk to you for a moment."

The voice belonged to the temple worker, who was one of the three disciples of the Ghost Master.

"All right," replied Wen Yiji graciously. He made no move to get out of the carriage.

"He is waiting for you and your companion in the prayer hall. Please follow me. The abbot is a nervous old man who can hardly walk. Therefore, I have to request you not to bring any weapons as that would frighten him."

Wen Yiji sighed. However, he and Shi Mei followed the Ghost Master's disciple into the hall.

"Please wait," the disciple instructed. Then he quickly left the hall and closed the door from outside.

"Something odd is going on," said Wen Yiji. "First, he said that the abbot was waiting. Now he asked us to wait."

“Let us be patient,” suggested Shi Mei. “After all, we are guests here. If we are required to wait, then it would be the polite thing to wait.”

The hall was lighted with candles. It was empty except for a centre table and some chairs. Some big joss sticks were burning in an urn on the table.

“This prayer hall is pretty spartan,” noted Wen Yiji. “The windows have bars across them. Nothing unusual for a window to have bars, except that these bars are made of metal.”

“To keep burglars from coming in?” asked Shi Mei.

“Maybe,” he answered. “But the design is bad. It makes the prayer hall look like a huge jail cell. I hate jail cells!”

Suddenly, Shi Mei tugged at his sleeve and pointed. Something was moving, and it cast a shadow hopping along the wall.

“What’s that?” she asked in a whisper.

“Probably the abbot,” answered Wen Yiji. “We were told that he could hardly walk. But we were not told that he could hop!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Whoever heard of a hopping abbot? This is something else!” said Shi Mei.

They turned to look at the figure hopping towards them.

“He sure is huge!” whispered Wen Yiji. "And ugly!"

“Shhhh….don’t be rude!” admonished Shi Mei.

The huge figure hopped and landed heavily in front of them. It stood still and stared at them impassively.

“You must be the abbot,” said Wen Yiji. “Thank you for allowing us to stay at your temple grounds for the night.”

The figure slowly raised both his hands outwards towards them, revealing long sharp nails.

“Do you suppose that he wishes to shake hands?” Wen Yiji whispered to Shi Mei. She was suddenly assailed by fear.

“This is no abbot…..it is a vampire!” she exclaimed.

“Are you certain?” he asked. “I have never actually seen a vampire.”

“I have seen pictures of vampires! Look at the nails!” she cried. “No human can have such long sharp nails! And the face is a thin skin stretched over the skull! Also, he smells like old rotting flesh!”

“Maybe he did forgot to take a bath for a few years,” commented Wen Yiji.

“Will you look at his fangs? He is a vampire!” insisted Shi Mei.

“Hey, if he is indeed a vampire, what is he doing in a temple?” asked Wen Yiji.

“That is not the question we should be asking!” she cried. “We should be asking what we are doing in this temple!”

“Well,” he answered. “We were on our way south and then we got diverted to this place, and then we got invited to stay at this temple, and then we got invited in here to meet the abbot……oh shit, we were set up!”

“Yes! That means we better leave!” she suggested.

“Good idea,” he agreed. “But I don’t think it will be that easy. Whoever set us up may have foreseen that we would try to run!”

“Do you think we are locked in?” she asked.

“I would bet on that! Look at the bars on the windows……they were meant to keep people in!”

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“We will have to fight our way out!”

“It is said that whoever gets bitten or killed by a vampire will also turn into a vampire!”

“Damn!” he exclaimed. “Oh…..damn!”

“It is not moving,” she whispered. “Maybe it is a friendly vampire!”

“It doesn’t look friendly,” he said.

“Then why is it not attacking us?”

“I think it is trying to decide which one of us to attack first,” he replied. “If a vampire is brain dead, then it will not be able to decide what to do!”

“Unless someone is controlling it!” she said. “My father used to tell me that a vampire usually has an evil mao shan controller!”

“Nah…..it is most probably brain dead. Here, let me test it,” said Wen Yiji. He shouted at the vampire, “Hey you! How much is 1 + 2 + 3?”

The vampire stared impassively at him.

“There!” said Wen Yiji triumphantly. “I knew it was brain dead!”

The next moment, the vampire leapt towards him with its nails headed for his face. He moved swiftly out of the way.

Shi Mei ran to the door. She tried the door but found it locked from outside.

“We are locked in!” she shouted.

“Look out! It is heading towards you!” shouted Wen Yiji.

She ran away from the door with the vampire after her. Using her Water Spider movements, she was able to dodge its outstretched nails.

Booooooooommm!!!

Wen Yiji had came from behind the vampire and delivered a Dark Fire Iron Palm on its back. The King of Vampires flew across the room and slammed against the wall. It then dropped stiffly down to the ground and remained motionless.

“There!” exclaimed Wen Yiji. “That wasn’t too difficult! A vampire can be killed just like a human!”

“Don’t speak too soon,” advised Shi Mei. “A vampire cannot be killed!”

“Is it an endangered species?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Not that I know of,” she replied.

“In that case it can be killed,” he said. “The law will not stop us!”

“I did not mean that you are not allowed to kill it,” she explained. “What I meant was, a vampire is already dead, so it cannot be killed! The way to vanquish it is to expose it to the bright sunlight!”

“Bright sunlight?”

“Yes! Sunlight turns it into ashes! Or at least that was what my father said!”

“Is that right?” inquired Wen Yiji. “My former cellmate, Amos, once told me that vampires were afraid of garlic and the sign of a cross. He narrated to me how he killed ten vampires with wooden stakes driven to the heart! He said that they were all blood relatives of his mother-in-law!”

“We better leave before the vampire wakes up,” suggested Shi Mei.

“Don’t worry,” assured Wen Yiji. “Nothing can survive the Dark Fire Iron Palm that I just used. Nothing.”

“Run!” shouted Shi Mei suddenly. “Here it comes again!”

Wen Yiji stared in astonishment as the King of Vampires rose from the floor and leapt towards them. He fled just in time. The vampire chased both of them around the hall relentlessly.

Whaaaaaaammm!!!

Wen Yiji had ducked under the nails of the vampire and struck a Dark Fire Iron Palm to the heart. The vampire flew backwards and hit the wall before falling to the ground. Quickly, Wen Yiji got to work. He broke off a leg from the table. Then, using brute strength, he cracked it into two. One of the pieces looked good enough to be a wooden stakes. Just as the vampire was getting up, Wen Yiji plunged the wooden stake into its heart. The vampire fell back.

“There, I killed it,” he said with satisfaction. “And I didn’t have to resort to sunlight!”

He turned and beckoned to Shi Mei to follow him.

“Look out!” shouted Shi Mei. “Here it comes again!”

“What?” exclaimed a flabbergasted Wen Yiji as the vampire rose from the floor. “Why won’t it stay dead?”

“That’s because it is already dead!” Shi Mei shouted back. “Should we try to leave this temple?”

“That may not give us any advantage,” shouted Wen Yiji as he ran to escape the long merciless nails of the vampire. “In here we have candles. In the dark night outside, we may not be able to see it coming! This is a creature of the night, so I expect that it has developed abilities to move about easily in the darkness!”

“The candles will not last all night!” yelled Shi Mei as she ran. She stopped when she realized that the vampire was chasing after Wen Yiji. “Also, I do not think that we can keep running all night.”

Kruunnnnnggggg!!!

A sweep of the hands by the vampire hit a huge column in the prayer hall and caused the building to rock.

“Shit! That bugger has got some awesome power!” yelled Wen Yiji. “And all this running is making me exhausted! Do you have any garlic?”

“This is not the time to thing about food, brother Wen!” admonished Shi Mei. “I don’t have garlic. But I have a char siu pau. You want?”

“No! No! No! Awww..…forget it!” panted Wen Yiji. The vampire turned. Suddenly, it was Shi Mei’s turn to run as the vampire chased after her. Round and round she ran in the hall as the vampire kept hopping after her.

Outside, in another part of the temple, the Ghost Master was prancing in front of his altar, waving his wooden sword.

“Hear my command, King of vampires!” he intoned. “Kill! Kill! Kill!”

He paused in his intonation and called one of his disciples, a plump guy, to him.

“I want you to take the horse and carriage of the One Eye Snake to Shibai now.”

“Now? Why not wait till morning?” asked the plump disciple.

“Because I want the carriage to have a head start!” snapped the sifu. “Travelling by carriage is much slower than travelling by horseback. I will leave here in the morning and if I ride hard enough, I can reach Shibai by tomorrow night. I don’t want to get to Shibai and still wait one more day for the carriage to arrive in order to collect my money! Therefore, I want you to start moving tonight.”

“But it is dark, sifu!” the plump disciple protested.

“Why are you arguing? We mao shan people travel by night most of the time! We are used to darkness! Besides, there is a moon!” answered the sifu heartlessly. “Now move!”

Glumly, the plump disciple went to get Wen Yiji’s carriage.

In the prayer hall, Shi Mei was running for her life while Wen Yiji was catching his breath. The vampire leapt upwards.

“I can’t see him!” a panicky Shi Mei yelled. She was not aware that the vampire was swooping down towards her. It stretched out its nails aimed at piercing the top of the girl’s head.

Baaaaammmmm!!!

Just in the nick of time, Wen Yiji palm blasted the vampire off course. It landed on its feet and turned towards Shi Mei again. She ran and the vampire hopped after her. Wen Yiji pulled the table cloth off the table. He positioned himself and then at the opportune moment, he flipped the cloth over the jumping vampire’s head.

The vampire stopped. It turned one way and another. Then it hopped after Wen Yiji slowly, pausing every now and then.

“It can’t remove the tablecloth over its head because it cannot bend its elbow!” cried Wen Yiji triumphantly. “It can’t see us, so it is trying to track us by smell or sound!”

“I don’t know about sound, but the smelly tablecloth over its face should mask our smell,” said Shi Mei hopefully. The vampire immediately leapt after them. Shi Mei ran to the left and Wen Yiji to the right. The vampire banged headlong into a column.

“Hey! You ugly ancient idiot!” Wen Yiji called out to the vampire. “You’re so ugly that we have to cover your dumb face up with a smelly table cloth in order to talk to you!”

The vampire turned towards him, tablecloth still over its head.

“So, it appears that you can hear me!” noted Wen Yiji.

The vampire hopped towards Wen Yiji who leapt up high to land softly next to Shi Mei. He put a finger to his lips and Shi Mei got the message.

The vampire turned slowly. It cocked its head for sounds but did not hear any. It turned to the left and then to the right. Left, right, left, right as if trying to make up its mind. Finally, it stopped moving altogether.

"I still think we should try to find a way outside!" whispered Shi Mei.

"No," replied Wen Yiji. "I think we are safer here. If this vampire has a controller, the moment we are outside, the controller will remove the tablecloth and set the vampire to hunt for us outside. I have the ability to see in low light, but you don't. You won't know where to run if it comes after you! At least in here we can see where the vampire is by candlelight. "

"You do have some logic," she whispered.

"Of course. Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer!"

Outside, the Ghost Master stopped waving his wooden sword and told his two remaining disciples, “Something is wrong! I sense that the King of vampires is not moving right! Something must have happened to it!”

“What do we do?” asked a disciple.

“I will have to go into the hall and commandeer the vampire from there. You two will come with me.”

Some distance from the temple, the Birdman watched the carriage pass him. It was the carriage belonging to the One Eye Snake, but was driven by the Ghost Master's plump disciple. The Birdman ran to the front of the carriage and asked, "Isn't this the carriage of the One Eye Snake?"

The plump disciple replied, "Yes!"

"Is the One Eye Snake dead?" the Birdman asked hopefully.

"He should be dead by now!" replied the disciple.

"I will need to see in order to confirm it for myself. Where is his body?" asked the Birdman.

"In the prayer hall of the temple," replied the plump man. "But the King of Vampires is in there. I will advise you to wait till dawn before inspecting the dead body."

"What King of Vampires?"

"Look," explained the plump man. "I cannot stay here all night just to answer your questions. Go see for yourself. Remember to enter the temple only when it is light!"

The plump man cracked his whip and the horse moved. The Birdman stared at the back of the retreating carriage. He had no choice but to wait till morning.

Meanwhile, the Ghost Master and his two disciples entered the prayer hall by a secret door high above the ground just under the roof. They perched themselves on a ledge among the roof rafters. Shrouded in darkness where the light from the candles could not reach, they peered down.

“There is a tablecloth over the head of our vampire,” the Ghost Master whispered to one of his disciples “Go down and remove it!”

“Yes, sifu!” replied the disciple. He leapt down to the ground and in a swift motion, pulled the tablecloth of the vampire.

“Hey! Where did that guy come from?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Never mind the guy!” said Shi Mei. “Here comes the vampire again!”

“Oh shit!” muttered Wen Yiji. “I wonder why the vampire is attacking us but not him!”

They ran, but suddenly Wen Yiji turned and ducked under the hands of the vampire. He delivered a blow to the shoulder of the vampire. The blow spunned the vampire around to face the disciple.

Boooooooommmm!!!

Wen Yiji delivered a powerful strike at the back of the vampire. The blow propelled the vampire forwards and it shot towards the surprised disciple with its outstretched hands and nails.

Sheeeeeuuuk!!!

The poor disciple was pierced right through by the long nails. The next moment, the vampire bent down and started biting into the neck of the unfortunate guy.

"Eeeewwww!" said Shi Mei. "That man got bitten by a vampire! He will turn into a vampire tomorrow!"

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! That was what my father said!” she replied. “He was once called to heal the son of a rich man who got bitten by a vampire. However, the condition could not be healed. The most my father could do was to slow down the process. However, one night, the son turned into a vampire. He then bit every one in the family. Soon, the house was full of vampires! A mao shan sifu came and subdued them with paper talismans. After that, he broke the roof and let the sunlight in. The vampires all turned into ashes!”

"What a way to go!" remarked Wen Yiji. “Maybe the sun god frightened them into ashes.”

“My theory is that some spectrum of sunlight reacts with the bodies of the vampires causing them to undergo rapid incineration.”

“Goodness! Where do you get all those theories!”

"Never mind. If ever I got bitten by a vampire, I want you to expose me to sunlight so that I can never become a vampire! Okay?"

"I promise you that you will never become a vampire.”

"Don’t be too sure, brother Wen," she said. "Once the vampire finished sucking the blood of that guy, it will turn its attention to us!"

"Do you have the Devil Flute?" Wen Yiji asked.

"Yes!" she replied. "But I don't think it will have any effect since a vampire is already dead."

"We will need to try."

"We can't," said Shi Mei. "I brought out the flute but I did not bring the acupuncture needles to protect myself from the Sounds of Hell. The moment I blow, I will faint."

"How many acupuncture needles do you need?" asked Wen Yiji.

"Two," she replied.

Wen Yiji searched his body and gave two needles to Shi Mei. "These were from the days when I needed the needles to maintain visibility. I don't need them now but I omitted to throw them away!"

Hastily, Shi Mei took the needles and poked them into the back of her neck. She instructed Wen Yiji, "You will have to move twelve steps away from me."

Wen Yiji nodded. Suddenly, he looked towards the vampire.

"He has finished his bloodfest! And he is now looking at us!" he said. "Better move!"

Shi Mei saw him gestulating at the vampire and ran for her life. The vampire ran after Shi Mei, but Wen Yiji got near palm blasted the legs of the vampire.

Foooooommmm!!!

The vampire fell down onto the floor. Quickly, Wen Yiji moved away and motioned to Shi Mei to blow the flute. She put the flute to her lips and blew a long note.

Up above her, the Ghost Master and his remaining disciple felt their heads burning up inside. They clutched their heads but the devilish sounds were not to be denied. The intense pain from the Sounds of Hell caused both of them to lose their balance and they tumbled helplessly downwards from their position down to the ground below.

Thud! Thud!

"What the hell?" thought Shi Mei as she kept on blowing. "Everytime I blow this flute, it keeps raining men!"

"Where did those men come from?" mutterred a perplexed Wen Yiji.

A movement from the vampire caused him to freeze. The vampire got up, seemingly unaffected by the effects of the Devil Flute.

The Ghost Master struggled to his feet, trying hard to withstand the devilish sounds. He looked for his wooden sword, without which he could not control the vampire. A cold hand helped him up and he wondered who was so kind. The next moment, he knew; it was the vampire. Before he could react, a cold mouth with sharp fangs clamped onto his neck and suck. In spite of the pain inside his head, he was aware of the horror that had befallen him. The mao shan sifu knew that he was on the way to becoming a vampire. He screamed in terror as the vampire continue sucking.

Shi Mei stopped blowing. She could see that the flute was useless against the vampire. She removed the acupuncture needles from her neck and wondered who the strangers were.

The disciple of the Ghost Master was also attempting to get up. The vampire swung its hands and the sharp nails sliced off the disciple's head cleanly.

"Oh, heck! I wish I hadn't seen that!" cried Shi Mei. "That was grotesque!"

Wen Yiji came near when he saw that Shi Mei was no more blowing the flute. "You were right!" he admitted. "The Devil Flute had no effect on the vampire!"

"Who are those men?" asked Shi Mei. "One of them is dressed like a taoist priest!"

"If I were to guess, I would say that the taoist priest is the one who was the master of the vampire," answered Wen Yiji. "When he dropped his wooden sword, his power over the vampire was diminished, I guess. So the old ugly creature attacked its master when it had the chance!"

"I heard from my father that the mao shan controls vampires with talismans," commented Shi Mei. "The mao shan sifu would paste the talisman on the forehead of the vampire and then it would stop moving! The bag that fell down with the taoist priest may contain what we need to control the vampire."

Wen Yiji looked at where Shi Mei was pointing and noticed a cloth sling bag commonly carried by taoist priests. He said, "I have an idea. You go and goad the vampire to chase you while I go and inspect the bag!"

“What?” exclaimed Shi Mei.

“Heheh! Just joking!” smiled Wen Yiji. “I’ll go and goad the vampire to chase me while you inspect the bag!”

"How can you joke at time like this?" she asked. “At normal times you are so serious!”

"That is true!" said Wen Yiji good naturedly. "I should lighten up more often."

He went up to the vampire and said, "Hey you! Do you know that you are so ugly that everybody dies?"

The vampire stared at him with blood smeared all over its mouth. Then it hopped madly after Wen Yiji and he had to run.

Quickly, Shi Mei ran and picked up the bag and inspected the contents. There were many different kinds of paper talismans. She did not know which one to pick.

"These are too many talismans!" she shouted. "I do not know which one to pick!"

"Just pick any one!" shouted Wen Yiji as he narrowly averted the long fingernails of the King of Vampires. "I'll hold its hands while you paste the talisman on its forehead!"

"Okay!" she answered as she rushed over. She dipped her hand in the bag and extracted a talisman randomly. Leaving the bag on the ground, she spitted on the back of the piece of paper and then waited for the opportunity.

Moving quickly, Wen Yiji grabbed the wrists of the vampire and held them upwards. The next moment, Shi Mei snaked in a hand and slapped the talisman on the forehead of the vampire. The vampire froze.

Wen Yiji released the wrists of the vampire and then withdrew. The vampire moved its head and looked in Shi Mei’s direction. It winked at her. The next moment, it went after Shi Mei and she had to flee.

Whaaaaaammmmm!!!!

Wen Yiji slammed the vampire from the side with a Dark Fire Iron Palm. The vampire went down for a moment. It got up again and even though Wen Yiji was nearer, it started to go after Shi Mei.

“Why is it chasing me and not you?” shrieked Shi Mei.

“If my guess is correct, I think you just pasted a love spell on his forehead!” Wen Yiji shouted back. "Be careful! I think the vampire is faster now! The drinking of blood must have given it an energy boost! We are definitely in trouble!"

“Do something!” she screamed as she ran. "Help!"

As they ran past him, Wen Yiji palm blasted the talisman off the forehead of the vampire. The creature stopped in its tracks. It turned to face Wen Yiji. The next moment, it attacked Wen Yiji.

Shi Mei took the opportunity to inspect the contents of the bag. There were loads of paper talismans inside.

"I can't find it!" she shouted.

"What are you looking for?" asked Wen Yiji who was fighting with the vampire.

"I'm looking for something that says that it can tame a vampire! But I do not even know what I am looking for exactly!" she shouted back. "I don't want to get a love spell by mistake again!"

"Wait! The Lao Chio Monster!" shouted Wen Yiji as he narrowly averted a strike by the vampire.

"There is nothing here that says "Lao Chio Monster". What is it?" she asked.

"The Lao Chio Monster once said that he had the all-powerful five thunder talisman that protected him against vampires! Look for a five thunder talisman!" yelled Wen Yiji as he leapt over the head of the vampire.

"There is a talisman here with the "Thunder" word written five times!" shouted Shi Mei.

"Let me have it!" shouted Wen Yiji as he raced towards Shi Mei with the vampire after him. He snatched the paper talisman from her hands. The paper tore almost into two. As he took the talisman from her, he turned and to face the onrushing vampire. However, the vampire was almost on top of him. Ducking desperately under the sharp nails, Wen Yiji shot up his hand and held the five thunder talisman against the face of the vampire. The vampire froze.

For a long while, Wen Yiji stayed in that position, with his hand holding the paper against the face of the vampire. The vampire just remained there, unmoving.

"I think the talisman worked," remarked Shi Mei thankfully. "Maybe you can remove your hand now, brother Wen!"

"I can't," explained Wen Yiji. "The talisman is almost broken in two. It is my hand that is holding it together. Can you see if there is another five thunder talisman in the bag?"

Shi Mei searched and searched. Finally she said in disappointment, "There is none!"

Wen Yiji mulled over the information. Finally he said, "I will have to stay in this position all night."

"All night?" asked Shi Mei. "Maybe we can tie up the vampire with ropes or something!"

"No," said Wen Yiji. "The vampire has gathered strength after he sucked the blood from the priest. I won't be able to fight it now. This piece of almost-torn talisman is our only hope!"

"Maybe we can take turns to hold the talisman," suggested Shi Mei.

"No, Shi Mei," said Wen Yiji. "Any movement will cause the talisman to come apart. I will have to do this myself. You can extinguish some candles to save them. Light them only when the other candles have burned out. That way, we should have light throughout the night."

"Yes, brother Wen," she said.

"Make sure that I do not fall asleep," he instructed. "If I do, that will be the end of us!"

Shi Mei nodded. She kept the candles going throughout the night. Then she kept engaging Wen Yiji in convesation so that he would not sleep. It was a long night. Wen Yiji was stiff from not moving. But in the end, morning came.

Cautiously, Shi Mei opened a window on the eastern side of the hall. A long beam of sunlight streamed in through the bars of the window and lit up a patch on the floor. She opened another window and another part of the floor was lit up.

"If we can push the vampire to the sunlight, maybe we can destroy it," suggested Shi Mei.

"I doubt it," said Wen Yiji tiredly. "The early morning sunlight is not very strong. We may have to wait until the sun is stronger."

"Shhhhhh!" whispered Shi Mei. "I think someone is opening the door!"

Quickly, she flopped down on the floor next to a dead body and pretended to be dead. The door swung slowly open and the Birdman looked inside. He stared at the vampire and Wen Yiji frozen in their positions. His eyes took in the four bodies lying on the floor and tried to guess what had happened.

The Birdman waited. There was no movement inside the hall. He wondered why the vampire and Wen Yiji were standing so close to each other with both not moving. However, his job was only to report what had happened, and if the One Eye Snake was dead, then he should report the matter. Cautiously, he placed his cage of pigeons at the entrance to the hall and then walked in. Slowly, he approached the two standing figures.

"Are you dead?" he asked Wen Yiji.

"Not yet," replied Wen Yiji. "You were the man with the cage of birds who overtook my carriage two days ago!"

"Why are you holding onto the face of this huge whatnot?" asked the Birdman.

"I am unable to move," replied Wen Yiji. "This whatnot is a vampire. It is also unable to move."

The Birdman paused. This was a golden opportunity to kill off the One Eye Snake. He knew that Prince Jin would pay a handsome sum for the kill. For some reason, the One Eye Snake was unable to move. It was an opportunity that even a fool would take. Hastily, he pulled out his sword. He would kill the One Eye Snake and then claim the reward from Prince Jin. As for the vampire, it was frozen and therefore, would not be a problem.

Wen Yiji turned his head and watch the Birdman aimed a thrust at him with a sword. Stiff as he was, Wen Yiji managed to jump aside. However, he fell to the floor. In horror, he saw the five thunder talisman flutter to the ground in two separate pieces.

"Shit!" he cried. "The talisman is down!"

On hearing that, Shi Mei quickly got up. The Birdman was momentarily distracted by Shi Mei that he did not notice the vampire move slightly. As the Birdman approached the fallen Wen Yiji with a sword in hand, he heard a slight sound behind him. He turned his head just in time to see the face of the vampire looming up close. The next moment, long nails pieced into the Birdman's heart and he died with terror on his face.

Shi Mei and Wen Yiji were tired from staying up all night. They knew that they were unable to outrun the vampire to the open door. However, they managed make their way to the two patches of the floor that was lit up by sunlight coming through the two open windows. The vampire paused by the edge of the light.

"It is afraid of light! Let us open more windows!" suggested Shi Mei.

"Good idea!" agreed Wen Yiji.

Shi Mei ran out of the lighted patch and the vampire immediately hopped over towards her window. She had to quickly run back into the light again. However, the little move gave Wen Yiji the opportunity to pick up the blade of the dead Birdman. Grinning naughtily, Wen Yiji used the blade to reflect sunlight onto the body of the King of vampires. The reflected light was weak but it had the effect of making the vampire back away from them. This time Shi Mei took the opportunity to open another window. Then she opened another. And yet another. Soon, the whole eastern wall had all its windows open and the vampire had to back off to the western half of the hall. However, they would still have to cross and unlit portion of the floor in order to make it out of the door.

Wen Yiji handed the Birdman's sword to Shi Mei and then stretched himself. He was exhausted, but calmly, he gathered the Dark Fire inner energy to his palm. He needed just one good strike. The King of vampires was standing near the door waiting for them, daring them to make a run for it. Shi Mei played a ray of sunlight off the blade onto the face of the vampire. The vampire shielded its face with its sleeve. Wen Yiji rushed forward and then palm blasted the vampire who was thrown back several steps onto the ground. The vampire recovered fast but got up only just in time to see Wen Yiji and Shi Mei rush out through the door to safety.

"Phew! That was scary!" said Shi Mei.

"Yes," agreed Wen Yiji. "Let us rest for a little while. And after that I am going to make the vampire wish that it had stayed dead!"

Chapter 26: The journey back to Shibai

Wen Yiji sat outside the temple and took in the morning rays of the rising sun. The truth was that, he was feeling like shit. The close proximity with the vampire all night had denigrated his life force.

“You should sleep in the sun for a while, brother Wen,” advised Shi Mei. “You looked rather pale.”

“You go to sleep,” said Wen Yiji. “You were up all night as well.”

“Yes,” she replied. “But you were breathing close to the vampire and that must have sapped your life force considerably. I don’t like the colour of your face.”

“Too bad. I was born with this face.”

“That is not what I meant. You really need to rest so that your life force can be rejuvenated. Otherwise you will fall unconscious later.”

“I am too hyped up to sleep,” he declared.

“That can be easily cured,” she said as she poked him with two acupuncture needles.”

He turned halfway and said, “I did not say that you…. can….. poke…….meeeeeeee…...”

With that, he fell into deep slumber. While he slept, Shi Mei felt his pulse and then proceeded to poke him in several parts of his body, attempting to get the yang energy to flow. She worked efficiently and rapidly. When Yiji awoke, the sun was high up in the sky.

"You poked me!" he said to Shi Mei accusingly.

"Yes I did!" she responded. "You needed to be poked!"

“Dammit, Shi Mei!” he said. “You can’t go around poking people all the time! How would you like it if I poked you instead?”

“All right, I’m sorry!” said Shi Mei. “If it will make you feel better, you can poke me back later.”

Wen Yiji eyed her. He would like to poke her later. But he would not be using a needle. He felt his pants tightened and was glad that he was wearing two pairs of underwear. Shi Mei sensed his thoughts. She blushed.

"Where is the damn vampire?" asked Wen Yiji.

"It is standing next to the western wall," she answered. "It must be sleeping. My father told me once that vampires sleep in a standing position facing the wall."

"Time we get rid of it!" he declared.

Wen Yiji walked to the door of the hall and looked inside. The vampire was indeed standing by the wall, facing it. Wen Yiji squinted up at the sky. The sun was searing and powerful. It was the perfect time to destroy the creature.

He looked around him and picked up a wooden pole from the ground. With a slight smile, he leapt up to the roof in one single leap. Then, he ran up and down the roof while using the pole to sweep away the roof tiles away like a typhoon. The tiles flew away under his onslaught and in no time at all, the roof was cleared. Bright sunlight flooded the entire prayer hall.

Wen Yiji peered down from the rafters into the hall but the vampire was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is that vile creature?" he shouted out.

"Lying under the table," answered Shi Mei, peering into the hall from the doorway. "I think it is using the table as some sort of cover from the burning sun."

Wen Yiji jumped down from the roof to the hall below him. He approached the table with his wooden pole nonchalently. Squatting down, he took one final look at the vampire hiding under the shadow of the table. He wondered if the vampire knew that the end had come for it. The vampire turned its head to glare at him in hatred. It knew all right. But there was nothing it could do. The creature of the night was helpless in the day.

With a quick motion, Wen Yiji flicked the entire table upwards and away with the pole. For a brief moment, the strong sunlight bore into the King of vampires mercilessly. The creature started charring immediately. It glowed brightly like a huge ember and angrily hopped towards Wen Yiji who retreated a few steps. The burning vampire started breaking up into flaming bits and in less time than it it took for one breath, the fearsome King of vampires disintegrated into a pile of ash.

Shi Mei entered the hall and took one look at the ashes.

"Let's leave," suggested Wen Yiji.

"Good idea," agreed Shi Mei. "Please remind me to make a note that vampires are highly combustible."

They made their way to where they had parked their carriage the previous night.

"Hey, our carriage has disappeared!" cried Wen Yiji. "And judging from the wheel marks on the ground, someone has driven it away!"

"You are right!" exclaimed Shi Mei. "I thought I heard our horse calling while we were busy battling the vampire last night! That must be when our carriage got stolen!"

"My parents' bones are in the carriage!" cried Wen Yiji. "I've got to get them back!"

"Oh, no! But why would anyone take the carriage?"

"I do not know," replied Wen Yiji. "The happenings of the past two days are forming a pattern. Someone obviously wanted me dead. The man with the birds must have something to do with it. I bet that whoever wanted me dead must be in Shibai."

"How can you be that certain?"

"Call it a wild hunch. The Eighteen Immortals asked if I was the One Eye Snake. I used that term only in Shibai. So obviously I am being hunted by someone in Shibai. Also, the wheel tracks of our carriage appear to be heading back to where we came from!"

"What do we do now?" asked Shi Mei.

"We go back to Shibai and hunt down our carriage. Come, let us see if there are horses in the temple stables."

They managed to get two horses from the stables and so they led the two horses out to the road. As they were passing the prayer hall, Wen Yiji spotted the Birdman's cage of homing pigeons near the door. Without hesitation, he grabbed the cage and took it along.

"These birds may come in useful," he told Shi Mei.

"You want to barbeque them?" she asked.

"No," he replied.

They followed the wheel tracks on horseback as best as they could. True enough, the wheel tracks led them north towards Shibai. Wen Yiji and Shi Mei rode fast, hoping to catch up with the carriage. At times when they lost sight of the wheel tracks, they merely rode on towards Shibai. The rain came but they rode on. It was only a slight drizzle, but it was enough to wash off the wheel tracks in the road.

That night, they spent the night in a wayside inn of a little village. Two of the pigeons had died.

The next morning, they headed towards Shibai again. Towards late afternoon, they approached the outskirts of Shibai.

"How will we know where to look, brother Wen?" asked an exhaused Shi Mei. "There are so many wheel tracks here that we will not be able to locate the tracks of you carraige."

"The birds will tell us," replied Yiji. "If my guess is correct, their roost is in Shibai. I will release a bird and then try to follow it."

"Only two birds are left alive," noted Shi Mei. "The others are asleep. Or dead."

Wen Yiji peered at the cage. Most of the birds had not survived the hard riding. Only two birds were still moving.

"Two little dickie birds sitting on the wall. One named Peter, the other named Paul," he intoned.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Uh....nothing. it's some silly poem that my ex-cellmate Amos used to recite. I remember that it used to drive me nuts!"

They rode out to some high ground and Wen Yiji took out one of the surviving pigeons from the cage. He released a pigeon.

"Fly away, Peter," he muttered.

The bird circled them for a few moments before flying away in a straight line.

"Looks like it is heading for the southeastern side of Shibai," he noted. "Towards the outskirts."

Shi Mei nodded in agreement. After a while, they lost sight of the bird.

"Somewhere there is a roost of homing pigeons and I bet our carriage is there as well," he said. "Let's make our way there. We have one more bird to help pinpoint the location."

At the Bamboo Villa, the plump disciple of the Ghost Master had just arrived with Wen Yiji's carriage. He was greeted by Blackface who knew him.

"Where is your sifu, the Ghost Master?" asked Blackface.

"He will be along shortly," answered the plump disciple. "He asked me to deliver the horse and carriage first because the carriage is travelling slower than him. I think sifu should arrive by tonight."

"Did you complete your mission?" asked Blackface. "Is the One Eye Snake dead?"

"I think so," replied the plump man. "We lured him into a hall with the King of Vampires and locked the door from outside. Nobody can survive that creature!"

Phoenix stared at the carriage. Then she went inside and saw the sacks of bones. When she exited the carriage, she was ashen faced.

"What's the matter?" asked Blackface quietly to her..

"This is the same carriage that we stopped at the Pool of the devil fish!" she whispered to Blackface. "We sent the driver and the girl into the pool They should have been eatedn up by the Devil fish!"

"Oh shit! I forgot!" exclaimed Blackface. "The girl is not dead. I saw her the night Whiteface died!"

"What?"

"I meant to tell you but it slipped my mind with all the excitement!"

"Oh, damn! If the carriage driver is One Eye Snake, then he must be looking for revenge for what we did to him!" deduced Phoenix. "This has nothing to do with Prince Jin!"

"Hush!" said Blackface. "Let us keep this to ourselves!"

Phoenix nodded her head.

"What is inside the carriage?" asked Prince Jin when he arrived.

"Two bows, one long and one short," replied the plump disciple of the Ghost Master.

"A short bow? That is our man!" cried the pleased Prince Jin.

"There is also a lot of human bones inside," commented the disciple.

"Human bones?" asked Prince Jin. "Why would there be human bones?"

"He must be a mao shan man," explained the plump disciple. "My sifu, the Ghost Master, use a lot of human bones to summon the spirits. These are all supernatural stuff. Very supernatural stuff. You wouldn't understand."

"What I can or cannot understand is not for you to judge!" said the prince angrily.

Sun Cheong eyed the carriage for a long time. He, too, had seen the carriage before; on the day when he killed the Ghost Ninja.

"Something strange is going on," he muttered quietly to himself. "The Ghost Ninja arrived on this carriage with a stranger. I remembered killing the Ghost Ninja. I remembered delivering a powerful blow to the carriage driver. Then the Flute Master arrived and I had to feigned death. When I awoke, everybody was gone. Did the Ghost Ninja really die or did he feigned death like I did? If so, is this One Eye Snake the same person as the invisible Ghost Ninja? This is getting complexed, ta ma de!"

"What are you muttering about, Master Sun?" inquired Prince Jin.

"Nothing, prince," answered Sun Cheong. "I have a most strange feeling about this One Eye Snake!"

"Never mind your strange feeling! It is good that the One Eye Snake is now dead. We will wait for the arrival of the Ghost Master to fill us with the details," suggested Prince Jin.

Sun Cheong ordered the carriage to be taken to the stables. He then instructed all his staff to report any out of ordinary happenings to him, no matter how small. The staff was obedient. One by one they came to him to report any unusual incident.

"Master Sun," said an old gardener. "The stable hand, Ah Fatt, is fondling the goat."

"So?" asked Sun Cheong. "He always fondles the goat. Why are you telling me this?"

"You asked me to report any out of ordinary happenings to you, no matter how small."

"What is so out of ordinary about that?" asked Sun Cheong.

"Ah Fatt usually fondles the front of the goat. Now he is fondling the ass!"

Sun Cheong dismissed him and sighed.

Soon, another servant appeared before him and complained, "Old humsup Ah Fatt is fondling an animal! It is not normal."

"I know, I know!" said Sun Cheong. "He is fondling the goat again!"

"No, no, no!" said the servant. "He is fondling the pig this time! That is why it is out of the ordinary!"

"Oh, alright! Now get back to work!" snarled an exasperated Sun Cheong.

Some time later, the kitchen boy ran to him and yelled, "Master Sun! I have come to report something out of the ordinary!"

"What is it?" asked Sun Cheong.

"One of the Birdman's pigeons has returned!" yelled the boy. "It just flew into the coop!"

"Good!" said Sun Cheong. "Give me the message from the pigeon."

"There was no message attached to the pigeon," said the kitchen boy.

"What?" yelled Sun Cheong. "No message?"

"None!" replied the boy.

Sun Cheong was instantly on the alert. He knew that the Birdman would not send a pigeon without a message. Something was definitely not right!

"This is really out of the ordinary!" he said slowly.

"No, no, no!" said the boy. "This is nothing! What I am about to tell you is really out of the ordinary!"

"What?" inquired Sun Cheong.

"Ah Fatt is now fondling the pigeon!" said the boy with a triumphant tone.

"Get out of here!" yelled Sun Cheong angrily. He would have to thrash the humsap Ah Fatt later, but in the meantime, there were important matters to attend to.

Quickly, he brought the news to Prince Jin and the others.

"Maybe the bird escaped from the cage and then flew here," suggested Red Wind. "Such things have been known to happen."

"Or maybe there was a message but it was lost in midflight," suggested Prince Jin.

Sun Cheong kept quiet. He was not afraid of the One Eye Snake. However, the whole affair with the One Eye Snake was beginning to get complicated. For all he knew, the Birdman could be dead.

Meanwhile, Wen Yiji had reached the southeastern outskirts of Shibai. The area was dotted with farmhouses and private villas.

"This is the place where we lost sight of the bird. The pigeon coop could be somewhere near," he told Shi Mei.

"We have still one more pigeon. It will have to count," said Shi Mei.

Wen Yiji nodded. Then he took the cage and sped up a tall tree.

"Fly away Paul," he muttered as he released the last pigeon. The bird circled around and then headed towards some trees. Wen Yiji made a giant leap upwards with lightness kungfu. High up in the air, he saw the pigeon swoop over the trees towards a rooftop near a bamboo grove. Then he started dropping, but he had seen enough.

"Come, Shi Mei," he called out. "I saw the bird flying towards a villa near a bamboo grove over there."

"I don't see any villas," she said.

"It's hidden by a group of trees," he told her. "We can't see it from here, but I am sure that I can find it. It is not far."

"What are our plans, brother Wen?" she asked.

"I will go into the villa and bashed every head until I get back the bones of my family," he replied. "And after that, I will bash their heads again. Once I have finished, I will let you perform the bashing if you like."

"No, thank you."

"Hey, you need the practice. It is not often that you can get some heads to bash!"

At the Bamboo Villa, a servant brought news to Sun Cheong while he was talking with Red Wind, "Master Sun! Master Sun! Another pigeon has returned!"

"What? So soon?" asked a surprised Sun Cheong. "Was there a message?"

"No," replied the servant.

Red Wind thought furiously. Then he cried out, "Shit! The One Eye Snake is here! He is using the pigeons to locate this villa!"

"How do you know?" asked Sun Cheong.

"Because that is what I would do!" replied Red Wind. "If the Ghost Master had managed to eliminate the One Eye Snake, we would have gotten word by pigeon post yesterday! The fact that we did not receive any word up to now meant that something had gone wrong! My opinion is that the One Eye Snake has killed both the Ghost Master and the Birdman!"

"Why would the One Eye Snake come here?" asked Sun Cheong. "He was travelling south!"

"Because we have taken something away from him!" replied Red Wind. "His horse and carriage, his bows and his bones!"

Sun Cheong froze for a while. Then he quickly summoned his archers and gave them their instructions, "I want the bones and the bows from the carriage moved to the Strongroom! Then I want the carriage booby trapped! We will lay a trap for the One Eye Snake tonight!"

The Strongroom was a solidly built room with no windows and had only a door at one end. Its width was only sixteen steps wide and the ceiling was low. A top kungfu fighter would find it difficult to manouvre around Sun Cheong in that room.

"What are we dealing with, Master Sun Cheong?" asked one of the archers.

"We are dealing with someone who will be difficult to see at night," answered Sun Cheong. "But once we get him into the Strongroom, he will not be able to escape my Buddha Palm! No one can!"

An invisible face at the outer walls of the villa peered into the villa grounds. Moments later, as Sun Cheong was waking through the villa grounds, he thought that he felt someone staring at him. He turned his head but could see no one.

Wen Yiji dropped down to the ground outside the villa and then ran to where Shi Mei was hidden.

"This battle is going to be tougher than I expected," he told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"I saw my old nemesis, Sun Cheong of the Buddha Palm!" he sighed. "I thought he was dead! But it looks like he is still alive! His face is all scarred but I can still recognised him, because it was I who gave him the special fish-shaped facial scars!"

"You can't take him?" asked Shi Mei.

"I fought with him once and lost," he replied. "Then the Flute Master battled with him and I guess that Sun Cheong lost. I found his lifeless body on the ground and thought that he was dead. If I had known that he was still alive, I would have killed him!"

"Do you need me to go in with the Devil flute?" she asked.

"No," he said. "Sun Cheong will be able to withstand your flute blowing. You are not able to play the flute with the same power as the Flute Master. I have seen him fight with the Flute Master. He has great internal control and only the Flute Master could find a vulnerable spot. You will have to stay out of this fight!"

"How are you going to rescue your family's bones out then?"

"Relax," said Wen Yiji confidently. "I do not think that Sun Cheong knows that I can turn invisible at night. I will use this to defeat him. As soon as it gets dark, I will enter the villa grounds."

In the Bamboo Villa, two men brought in some sacks of flour into the Strongroom.

"Spread the flour evenly on the floor," Sun Cheong commanded.

"Why do we need to do this?" asked one of the men.

Sun Cheong silenced him angrily with a glance. When the men had completed their job and left, Sun Cheong answered the question to an empty room, "So that if I am dealing with an invisible enemy, I will still be able to see the footsteps walking on the flour-covered ground!"

Chapter 27: Size does matter

Just before nightfall, Wen Yiji headed to the back of the Bamboo Villa. He reasoned that his carriage was most probably kept in the stable which was usually located at the back of the premises. Seeing no one around, he slipped over the high wall and landed inside the villa grounds. There were sentries on duty, but crouching low on the ground and cloaked in invisibility, he was not detected. Quickly, he headed to the stable and a strange sight greeted him. Three men were beating up Ah Fatt who was blubbering noisily. Then, Wen Yiji saw his carriage. Four men were doing something to it.

One of the men by the carriage said in exasperation, "Will you stop beating him up? His crying is upsetting my concentration! We should have finished booby trapping this carriage a long time ago!"

"It is Ah Fatt's fault!" retorted one of the men doing the beating. "If he had not chased the pig too near to the carriage, then the pig would not have set off the booby trap! And then we would not have to reset the whole damn booby trap again!"

"Need you whack him so hard? He is blubbering like a little girl!"

"Hey, he was already blubbering like a little girl when your super efficicient booby trap killed his pig!"

"Well, stop thrashing him and come and lend us a hand. It is nightfall already and Master Sun's instructions were to get this thing ready before nightfall!"

Another voice commented, " I hope that you have set the trigger points higher this time. We don't want another pig to come and set off the thing!"

"Don't worry!" someone replied. "Anything below the height of a pig will not be able to trigger it off accidentally. But if a human attempts to enter the carriage, he will be perforated from all sides!"

"I don't see why we should booby trap this thing!" complained a voice. "There is nothing inside! Everything, including the bones, has already been moved to the Strongroom!"

"Stop complaining!" another voice hushed him up. "If Master Sun hears you complaining, your life will be shortened considerably! He has his plans on dealing with the One Eye Snake!"

The men worked silently. Then Wen Yiji spotted the dead pig. It had been skewered by arrows all over. There were so many arrows sticking from it that it looked like a huge porcupine. He suppressed the desire to laugh. This was no time to appreciate the humour of the situation.

The men finished their work and one of them said, "Get ready! Move away! I am going to release the safety catch!"

Then he pulled out a wooden rod from the side of a box which housed the contraption that was connected to the triggering points. Taking Ah Fatt and the dead pig along, the men carefully left the scene.

Wen Yiji waited awhile. He should make his way to the so-called Strongroom instead of hanging around the stable. However, he needed something from his carriage. When all was quiet, he carefully replaced the safety catch of the booby trap again. The booby trap had been deactivated, but he was taking no chances. For all he knew, there could be other triggering points that had no safety catch. He peered carefully around him to see any signs of trip wires or other triggering implements. He saw nothing that he had not already considered. Then he remembered that one of the men had said that anything below the height of a goat would not be able to trigger the booby trap accidentally. Silently, Wen Yiji got down and crawled carefully to his carriage, taking great care not to touch anything. When he reached the underside of the carriage, he opened the secret compartment underneath. Reaching in, he pulled out a sword that he had confiscated from the dead Kansai Killers a few months ago. It was one of the short swords, and therefore easier to hide when he was in the invisible state.

"I hope this sword will come in handy if I am dealing with Sun Cheong of the Buddha Palm," he thought. "It's blade is extremely sharp and can slice a man into two! When the power of the Buddha Palm meets cold steel, we will see which one is sharper!"

A bundle fell out of the compartment. Wen Yiji examined it and cried, "The bundle of smoke bombs! Let's see.....the yellow ones makes a loud noise and a flash....the red ones are poison gas bombs. Hmmmmph.......better take them also. They may come in useful!"

He closed back the secret compartment and left without triggering the booby trap. He moved silently, making his way past several sentries.

"Where should I go?" he muttered. "Which way is this so-called Strongroom?"

Quietly, he made his way to the inner courtyard. Standing in the middle of the courtyard, he looked at the rooms around him. It was already dark and there were only two lit lanterns in the courtyard. The rooms around the courtyard were all dark. All, except for one room. Its door was wide open and the inside was well lit.

Wen Yiji got nearer to the room. From where he was, he could see that his two bows were in the room, neatly placed against the sacks of bones that belonged to his dead family members.

"My parents' bones!" he muttered excitedly. "All placed neatly together with my short bow and long bow. In the only lighted up room around! This must be the Strongroom! And the door is wide open!"

Excitedly, he moved towards the room door. A slight sound from one of the rooms reminded him of the need for caution.

"This look too easy! It is like somebody is inviting me in to take my stuff!" he muttered to himself. "Where got so fat female pigeon jumping on the street one? Obviously, it is a trap!"

Wen Yiji then moved around the courtyard carefully trying to detect signs of life.

"The rooms near the Strongroom have men inside. And one of them has a wheezing problem!" he noted. He turned his head to another direction. "The rooms on the opposite side of the courtyard are also similarly occupied. I sense a strong sha qi in the air!"

He waited for a few moments, pondering his next step. Then he went to the two lit lanterns in the courtyard and blew them out one by one. The courtyard was shrouded in darkness.

"The lanterns in the courtyard has gone out," noted Prince Jin in one of the rooms. "Send someone to light them back."

A henchman was sent out to light back the lanterns. He held a candle in his hands and went out to the courtyard. Just as he was passing the Strongroom, an invisible hand reached out and poked his yue dao, thus immobilizing him. Then, invisible hands turned him to face the open door of the Strongroom. His yue dao was then freed, but at the same time, the henchman was shoved powerfully into the Strongroom. The poor guy came to a stop near the sacks of bones. Startled, the man turned round but could not see who it was who shoved him.

Wen Yiji was expecting waves of arrows and spears hurtling towards the man. However, nothing of the sort happened.

"No booby trap? Nothing? I can't believe it!" Wen Yiji muttered to himself. "In that case, I'll just go in and help myself to my stuff, then!"

Then the henchman noticed Sun Cheong standing quietly behind the door. "Somebody shoved me in here, Master Sun," he explained.

Sun Cheong silenced him with a wave of his hand. He had noticed two tracks of footsteps on the flour-covered floor, and one was made by an invisible being. "Get out of here," he instructed the henchman. "And tell the men to shoot at anyone who comes out the door!"

The henchman hurriedly walked out of the room and Sun Cheong immediately closed the door. He gathered his energy for a strike. Looking at the footsteps on the ground, he could guess Wen Yiji's position. However, he could not tell if Wen Yiji was carrying a weapon. No matter. His palm blast would take care of that.

Sun Cheong leapt forward and unleashed a palm blast just three steps away from Wen Yiji.

Wen Yiji was surprised to note that Sun Cheong had delivered a palm blast over his head. He remained still. In his crouching position, he thought furiously, “What the heck……how the hell did he know that I am here? Did he hear me breathe? I remember him saying once that the powers of his ears have no equal under Heaven! If I had been standing, instead of crouching, I would have caught his palm blast full force!”

Sun Cheong was puzzled. He knew that he had not managed to strike anybody. It was like hitting empty air. He had expected a body to be blasted towards the opposite wall. He looked around. Then he looked at the footprints again.

“The invisible intruder has got to be one step ahead of the last footprints. Did he leap away?” he asked himself. He got nearer to Wen Yiji who suddenly lashed out with the sword.

Swish!

Sun Cheong heard the sword slicing through the air and he leaped away just in time. But not before the tip of the sword appeared magically out of thin air and nicked his knee. He turned in midair and delivered two palm blasts with both hands simultaneously towards where Wen Yiji had been crouching. However, Wen Yiji was in the process of leaping aside. The twin blasts missed him but the side stream of the blasts hit one leg and he was spun in midair by the immense force of the Buddha Palm energy. He landed hard on the floor some distance away. The sword dropped from his hands with a clatter on the ground. His palms swiped the floor and he uttered silently, “There’s flour on the floor. Why should there be flour on the floor? Oh….shit…..I am leaving marks all over the floor! So that was how he detected me!”

Sun Cheong rushed towards the fallen sword and then stared at the ground all around. He thought he knew where Wen Yiji had landed and delivered a palm blast. However, Wen Yiji was already on the move and no more there.

“I see that you have dropped your sword,” Sun Cheong called out. “That was certainly careless of you!”

“I know, I know,” drawled Wen Yiji from the other end of the room. “Accidents will happen. Hey, I nicked you in the knee, didn’t I? Tsk, tsk……you should be a bit more careful!”

Sun Cheong angrily brought is foot down on the fallen sword. The blade did not break, but it got bent.

“Who are you?” asked Sun Cheong. “Your voice sounds familiar. You are invisible. Yet you are not the Ghost Ninja.”

“Who I am is not important,” answered Wen Yiji. “You stole my carriage and my horse. You are nothing but a common thief.”

“You must be the one that they called the One Eye Snake,” retorted Sun Cheong. “And I did not steal your things. They were brought here to me.”

“That makes you a receiver of stolen goods,” said Wen Yiji sarcastically. “Still guilty as a thief!”

“Who is going to judge me? You? Do you know who I am?”

“You are Sun Cheong of the Buddha Palm. I think you must be somehow connected to the traitor Prince Jin.”

“That is where you are wrong! Prince Jin may be staying here, but I do not serve him!”

“I know. You serve Royal Concubine Lin who is in cahoots with Prince Jin to kill the Emperor! That makes you a traitor as well!”

“That is none of your business, One Eye Snake! You will not get out of this room alive!”

“Frankly, I am surprised by your presence here tonight. All these while, I thought that you were dead.”

“I know now where I have heard your voice before,” noted Sun Cheong. “That day, when I was battling with the Ghost Ninja, you were there. You were the carriage driver who gave him a lift!”

“You are correct,” said Wen Yiji. “You waylaid the Ghost Ninja and killed him in cold blood. Then you almost killed me. After that, you almost got killed by the Flute Master. In fact I thought you were dead!”

“Hahahahahah!” laughed Sun Cheong uproariously. “I was merely pretending to be dead! I fooled everybody, didn’t I?”

“You certainly did. I was under the impression that you were actually dead. So I gave you the scar on your face. I should have lopped off you head instead!”

“So! It was you who scarred my face!” snarled Sun Cheong. “Why did you do it? Why?”

“I thought that you and the Ghost Ninja were both already dead, so I wanted to make sure that he looked better than you in hell. So that you could not compete with him for women in hell. They say that hell is full of bad women. And you know what they say about women. When they are good, they are good. When they are bad, they are really good."

"What? I looked like this because of you!"

"Stop complaining. It is an improvement over your previous looks. Did you like the scar? I started out by simply cutting your face randomly, but then my creative juices took over and I tried to make the scar looked like a fish. A burping fish. Funny, isn’t it?”

“Funny? You think this is funny? I will make sure that you die. Slowly! Was it you who gave me the limp as well?”

“Oh…..that….” said Wen Yiji easily. “I wanted to make sure that you would not be able to chase the Ghost Ninja around in hell. How was I to know that you did not die?”

“You are going to hell!” screamed Sun Cheong. “Today, I will settle all accounts with you!”

“I guess you did not like what I did to your mouth either, did you?”

“Did to my mouth? What did you do to my mouth?”

“Don’t you remember anything?”

“I remembered waking up and finding that my mouth tasted funny.”

“Oh….that must be the horse shit that I crammed in your mouth. I used a stick to compact it inside. Klook Klook Klook Klook Klook......and it was all compacted! I bet it took you a month to wash it out.”

“You mangy dog!” shouted Sun Cheong. “I will carve you out slowly!”

“Who? You?” drawled Wen Yiji sarcastically. “I saw the Flute Master beat the crap out of you! Today, it will be my turn to do it, I guess. I am already thinking of the things that I can stuff in your useless mouth! Have you tried dog shit yet?”

The enraged Sun Cheong sent a palm blast in his direction. Wen Yij leaped off diagonally. He managed to avoid the palm blast but bumped his head against the low ceiling.

“Damn this maggot infested ceiling!” he swore as he fell to the ground. “Which idiot built the ceiling this low? He should have his contractor license revoked!”

Sun Cheong had leapt towards the sound where Wen Yiji had fallen and struck hard with a Buddha Palm.

Foooooommmmm!

The palm thundered into the floor and left the mark of his palm there. Mercifully, Wen Yiji had managed to move his body sideways to avoid the blow. He rolled away and flipped in time to parry another of Sun Cheong’s Buddha Palm. Sun Cheong hit out wildly. He was confident that Wen Yiji was not carrying any weapon. All he needed was to land a blow on his invisible opponent and the One Eye Snake would be history. But fighting with an invisible man was not easy. Occasionally, his blows got parried, but most of the time, he struck empty air.

For Wen Yiji, fighting from a crouching position was not easy either. He knew that sooner or later, Sun Cheong would figure out that he was crouching, and that would make things a lot more difficult.

“Why don’t you stand and fight like a man?” Sun Cheong jeered. "Afraid to match iron palms with me? Are you a chicken?"

“You are trying to get me to talk in order to reveal my position,” said Wen Yiji sagely. “The flour on the ground is now so full of footprints everywhere that you cannot tell where I am anymore if I keep silent.”

“If that is the case, why then do you answer?” asked Sun Cheong.

“That is because I can throw my voice,” lied Wen Yiji. “I can project my voice to somewhere else and then make you think that I am here but I am actually not here!”

"well, are you here or not?"

"I am not sure. Sometims i throw my voice so well that I even fool myself. So when I think I am here, I am actually not here. And when I think I am not here, I am also not here!"

“You are bluffing!”

“Am I?”

“There is one thing that I do not understand,” said Sun Cheong.

“One thing?” retorted Wen Yiji. “Don’t flatter yourself. Actually, there are a million things you do not understand.”

Sun Cheong ignored the jibe and asked, “When did the Ghost Ninja teach you the art of invisibility? I have known him a long time and I know that he did not believe in taking a disciple.”

“If you must know, he begged me to become his disciple,” answered Wen Yiji. “He said that I was the best thing to come his way since garupa head steamed with ginger. You wouldn’t understand. That makes it a million and one things you don’t understand.”

“What’s so good about garupa head steamed with ginger?”

“You have to add in a little rice wine. Then it tastes like heaven.”

“Oh……rice wine.....hey, you think that you have a smart mouth, don’t you? Unfortunately for you, I know the limitations of invisibility. Your world turns dark and you will not see very well. I will blow out the candles one by one until the light level is so low and you will not be able to see at all. Invisibility is stupid. I can’t understand why anyone would bother to learn it.”

“A million and two!”

“For someone who is about to die, you certainly are cheeky. Why you are like that, I don’t under…….”

“A million and three!”

“I did not complete my sentence!”

“Ooooops……sorry!” Wen Yiji apologized. “My mind works too fast sometimes. You must excuse me. It is very difficult for me to hold a decent conversation with slow thinkers.”

Sun Cheong had enough of talking. With a sweep of his powerful hand, all the candles in the room had their lights blown out. All, except one. The room turned darker for Wen Yiji. However, he always had to ability to see with low light from young, so he could still find his way around.

“Poor you!” Sun Cheong jeered. “You won’t be able to see now, can you? You are like a blind man now. Sooner or later, you will make a mistake and then I will kill you!”

Then he advanced on Wen Yiji while palm blasting every direction where he thought his opponent was standing.

Wen Yiji waited till he was near enough and then he unleashed a Dark Fire Iron Palm that struck the side of Sun Cheongs body.

Baaaaammmmm!

The next moment, both Sun Cheong and Wen Yiji were thrown apart. Wen Yiji hit the wall of the room while Sun Cheong fell to the ground.

“Hahahahahaha!” laughed Sun Cheong as he picked himself up unhurt. “Didn’t you know that if you hit my body with an iron palm, my Buddha Palm stance will use my body to hit your palm as well? It is like hitting an explosion! Hahahahaha! You dumb cockroach!”

Wen Yiji winced with pain. Sun Cheong listened carefully for the sound of Wen Yiji breathing hard. The enclosed room magnified every sound. Then he moved towards Wen Yiji who had no choice but to retreat. Learning from painful experience, Wen Yiji knew that he could not hope to defeat Sun Cheong through raw power. If he were to win, it would have to be by some other method. He took a coin from his body and threw it against the wall. The coin rebounded from the wall and then fell down on the floor noisily. Under cover of the noise, Wen Yiji tried to move around Sun Cheong in an attempt to reach the door.

“Oh no, you don’t!” hissed Sun Cheong as his keen ears picked up the sound of Wen Yiji’s movements. He rushed for the door as well while saying, “You will not escape me so easily!”

Standing with his back against the door, Sun Cheong blocked the exit. Suddenly a dark shape hurtled towards him and hit the ground near his feet. There was a thunderous flash followed by heavy smoke; Wen Yiji had thrown a smoke bomb explosive. Sun Cheong leapt aside momentarily. Then he went back to the door again.

“Sun Cheong,” Wen Yiji called out. “If you do not move away from the door, this thing that I am throwing will sear your soul with its Superior No-comparison Pik Lik Life Sapping Breath. It’s very powerful! You will shit without stopping until you shit out your brains!”

"Do you take me for a fool? This room is not very big. If this thing gives out poisonous fumes, you will also get poisoned! Would you poison yourself in order to poison me? I think not!” said Sun Cheong with a sneer. “I have been to the Eastern Islands and I know that these things are used by ninjas to create a smoky diversion in order to escape from their pursuers. They are harmless! All sound and fury, signifying nothing!”

“Oh yeah?” noted Wen Yiji. “Just for that remark, I will throw two this time! Don’t say that I did not warn you!”

He threw two; one yellow smoke bomb explosive and one red poison gas bomb. This time, the contemptuous Sun Cheong did not even bother to move from his spot by the door. However, he kicked the more visibly impressive yellow bomb towards the sound of Wen Yiji’s voice. The red poison gas bomb lay by the door and its odorless poisonous gas spread out to fill the whole room. Wen Yiji tried not to breathe in too deeply. He had tied a piece of cloth to the lower half of his face. The dark energy of his Poison Field Inner Stance was already working to separate out the poison. As long as he did not use more than one third of his strength, his Poison Field Inner Stance kungfu would be able to keep the effect of the poison under control.

The poison started to take effect on Sun Cheong. His head grew dizzy.

“Pai……I got poisoned already!” he muttered. Quickly, he tried to use his inner energy to clear his head. Focus. He had to focus. In time, he would be able to expel the poison.

“You used…..poison!” he gasped.

“What if I did,” retorted Wen Yiji.

“We will both……die here!” gasped Sun Cheong, sinking to his knees.

"Do you have any last words, Sun Cheong?" asked Wen Yiji. "Or are you pretending to die again?"

“I am not……pretending. Poison is….real!” said Sun Cheong.

Wen Yiji waited for a while. Then Sun Cheong toppled over and lay on the ground.

“This is….the end,” gasped Sun Cheong with difficulty. “Before I die, I need……to tell you…….about Ghost Ninja.”

Wen Yiji could not hear him, so he walked over to Sun Cheong, not even bothering to crouch down.

Sun Cheong stared up at the half-visible Wen Yiji and mouthed, “You……only half visible! How?”

“I only got half the Invisibility Manual,” Wen Yiji answered him. “So I could only become half-invisible.”

“There is……one thing…… you need……. to know,” gasped Sun Cheong. He was near enough to reach out to touch Wen Yiji if he so wished.

“What is it?” asked Wen Yiji kindly.

“Remember I said……that I am not pretending…..to die?” Sun Cheong gasped.

“Yes?” responded Wen Yiji.

“Well……I lied!” said Sun Cheong sharply as he struck out with a Buddha Palm at the nearby Wen Yiji.

Swiiiisssshhhh!!!!!

The next moment, Sun Cheongs right hand fell to the ground, sliced neatly away from the body at the elbow. As he stared stupidly at his fallen hand, a blade plunged into his chest before being withdrawn. Blood spurted out from his elbow and from his chest.

“There is also one thing you need to know,” drawled Wen Yiji. “While the smoke bombs were taking up your attention, I picked up my sword again! The blade was bent a bit, but I bent it back straight! You could only see my legs and was not aware that I was holding a sword in my hand. Let me tell you that this is a very specially crafted blade. Imported one! Very sharp! This was why I kept it all this time.”

“Urnnnnghhh!” Sun Cheong grunted. “Impossible! You couldn’t be that fast!”

“I wasn’t that fast,” explained Wen Yiji. “But you were slow. The poison had slowed you down. And I knew a bit of the Ghost Ninja’s Water Spider technique to move quickly out of the way of your Iron Palm. The kungfu of the Ghost Ninja defeated you eventually.”

“No……” cried Sun Cheong as he struggled to a sitting position.

With a sudden motion, Wen Yiji plunged the sword in the neck of weakened Sun Cheong. Then he applied a sawing motion. Sun Cheong reached up with his left hand to grab hold of the blade to prevent the sawing. Wen Yiji attempted to saw, but Sun Cheong held on. Blood flowed down from the neck. In time, with much loss of blood, Sun Cheong became too weak to thwart Wen Yiji.

“This is for the Ghost Ninja,” whispered Wen Yiji as he continued sawing. Moments later, the head fell from the shoulders onto the ground. Sun Cheong flopped to the ground and remained unmoving.

“Something tells me that you are not pretending to be dead this time,” remarked Wen Yiji.

He stretched himself and then sat down next to the wall to concentrate. In time, the air became more breathable but the poison from the red poison bomb was still in his body. He waited for the Poison Field Inner Stance to do its work. After a while, he stood up and urinated against the wall to get the poison out of his system.

There were sounds outside the Strongroom. He knew that there would be a hot reception for him the moment he opened the door. Carefully, he went through the sacks of bones of his family members. Everything was intact. Then he inspected the two bows. They were not damaged in any way. The only things missing were his arrows. He examined the room. There was no way out except through the door. He would have to fight his way out. That should not be a big problem now that Sun Cheong was dead. However, he did not want his departed parents’ bones to get damaged in the fighting. One by one, he moved the sacks to the side of the room.

Outside the Strongroom, the archers had taken their positions. Red Wind approached one of the archers and asked, “Are you really going to shoot anyone who comes out of the room?”

“Yes,” the archer responded. “Those were our orders.”

“What if Master Sun comes out of the door?”

“We will also shoot!”

“You will kill Master Sun!”

“No we won’t! He will avoid our arrows!”

“How can he?” asked Red Wind.

“He is Master Sun Cheong of the Buddha Palm. He can avoid our arrows. If the One Eye Snake is in there, then Master Sun will not want us to hesitate in shooting as that would give the intruder a chance to get away. Our instructions were to shoot first and ask questions later.”

Red Wind digested this information. He had no idea that Master Sun was the same famed Sun Cheong of the Buddha Palm. Yet at the same time, he had heard that the famed Sun Cheong had been killed by the Flute Master.

“Damn!” he uttered as he walked away. “I don’t know what is true or false in the martial underworld anymore!”

Moments later the door of the Strongroom opened wide. The archers sent a volley of arrows through the door.

Whooooowooooowoooooosssshhhhh!!!

Standing safely behind the door, Wen Yiji noted, “These archers are good! Their arrows are delivered in a single volley and not as a mishmash of shots!”

He closed the door again. Then he went over to the opposite side of the room where the arrows had landed and started picking them up. “Now I have arrows!” he chuckled gleefully. “Showtime!”

After slinging the short bow over his body, he went over to where the body of Sun Cheong was. He picked up the body and put the head atop the neck. The head fell off. Taking two arrows, Wen Yiji skewered the head to the body. This time the head remained fixed and did not fall off. He opened the door again.

Whooooowooooowoooooosssshhhhh!!!

Another volley of arrows shot through the door. Wen Yiji then lifted up Sun Cheong’s dead body and held it in front of him. He marched out of the door using the dead body as a shield.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three arrows slammed into the dead body.

“Wait!” someone shouted. “It is Master Sun! I think we just killed him!”

Wen Yiji dropped the body and leapt skywards. Shrouded in invisibility, he made his way to the roof, unslung his bow and started shooting. One by one, the archers fell, shot either in the head or in the back. They did not know where the arrows came from.

“Run!” whispered Red Wind urgently to Prince Jin as he sized up the situation. His job was to protect the prince at all costs. Prince Jin, Red Wind, Blackface and Lady Phoenix ran to the big hall. Behind them, their men were dropping like flies as Wen Yiji went on a shooting spree. When he ran out of arrows, he merely picked up a fresh quiver of arrows from a dead fighter. Soon, all was quiet.

In the big hall, Prince Jin screamed, “Lock the door!”

Obediently, Red Wind locked the door and barred it with a stout wooden bar.

“What are we dealing with?” asked Phoenix.

“I don’t know,” answered Blackface. “But we ought to be safe here!”

“I wish you wouldn’t say things like that!” said Wen Yiji as he turned visible in the hall. “It gives me the urge to prove your wrong!”

They turned to stare at him. His face was still covered up by the cloth face mask and so they could not see his face.

“How did you get in here?” stuttered Prince Jin. “And who are you?”

“I am the one you have been trying to kill,” replied Wen Yiji. “First you employed the Eighteen Immortals to kill me. Then you tried to use a vampire. And then Sun Cheong tried to kill me. After that, there was this team of dead archers. All this ends tonight after I kill you, Prince Jin.”

“You know who I am?” asked Prince Jin in surprise.

“Of course!” answered Wen Yiji. “You are the Prince Jin who is banging Royal Concubine Lin and conspiring with her to kill off the Emperor so that her son can become the next Emperor! You are a traitor!”

“You have no proof of that!” cried the prince. “Kill him, Red Wind!”

Red Wind attacked. He was fast, but not quite as fast as Wen Yiji. Swinging his sword, Red Wind delivered stroke after stroke in an exquisite display of fast swordsmanship. Blackface joined him while Phoenix stayed back to protect Prince Jin.

Piiiaaaannnnng!!!

Wen Yiji’s superior blade chopped Red Wind’s blade into two. Then he kicked Red Wind powerfully in the stomach and the fighter fell. Wen Yiji turned in time to block Blackface’s sword slash. A Dark Fire Iron Palm to the chest sent Blackface flying. Blackface hit the wall and crumpled down to the ground, still alive but badly hurt.

Wen Yiji went over to fallen Red Wind and lifted up his sword to cut off Red Wind’s head.

“Stop!” cried Phoenix. “You cannot kill this man!”

“And why not?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Because you owe me a favour!” she cried.

“Since when did I ever owe you a favour?” he asked in surprise.

“You are the carriage driver whom we attacked at the Pool of the Devil fish!” she said. “I recognize your carriage.”

“Yes, I remember you,” said Wen Yiji.

“After you and your lady were sent into the pool, my martial brothers, Whiteface and Blackface, wanted to throw your bags of bones into the pool as well. I stopped them!”

“Why did you do that?”

“I thought that those bones must have belonged to your family, and that you must have been planning to rebury them elsewhere. The dead should be respected. Thus I prevented Whiteface and Blackface from throwing the bones to the Devil fish!”

Wen Yiji mulled over this bit of information. Then he said, “You are right. I do owe you a favour. For that, I will spare your life. As for this man, he attacked me and so I have to kill him!”

Again, he lifted up the sword to cut off Red Wind’s head.

“Wait!” Phoenix cried. “You can’t kill this man!”

“And why not?” Wen Yiji asked. “I have already spared you your life. This man’s fate is none of your business.”

Phoenix stared steadily at Wen Yiji and said clearly, “I have lain with this man, Red Wind, and they say that one night as a couple is a hundred days of gratitude. I wish to plead for his life!”

“Damn!” said Wen Yiji. “I will not cause you a life of sorrow by robbing you of your man. All right. I will spare him. But I will paralyze his kungfu afterwards!”

“Thank you!” said a grateful Phoenix.

Wen Yiji turned to the hapless Blackface. He lifted up his sword in readiness to take off the head. Blackface stared at him helplessly.

“Wait!” shouted Phoenix. “You can’t kill that man also!”

“And why not?” Wen Yiji asked.

“I have also lain with him, and they say that one night as a couple is a hundred days of gratitude,” she explained. “I wish also to plead for his life.”

“You have lain with more than one man?” asked a surprised Wen Yiji.

“Yes!” she answered.

“I am sorry!” said Wen Yiji. “Our tradition only allows one man per woman. Thus, I can spare only one man! Choose among the both of them whom you wish to have me spare.”

“I am unable to choose!” cried Phoenix.

“In that case, I will kill both of them!”

“Wait!” Phoenix said. She hesitated for a moment before pointing to Red Wind and replying, “I choose him!”

The injured Red Wind heaved a sigh of relief. Blackface, however, was enraged.

“You chose him over me?” he shouted angrily to Lady Phoenix. “But we are members of the same Green Scorpion Sect. Red Wind is an outsider! What does he have that I don’t?”

“I’m sorry, brother Blackface,” she said. “But to me, size does matter!”

Red Wind beamed triumphantly.

Wen Yiji turned to Blackface and snarled, “You had a hand in pushing my woman into he Pool of the Devil fish! Not only that, several nights ago you tried to molest her at the Green Gate Inn! Consider yourself lucky that I am giving you a quick death!”

The next moment, Wen Yiji slashed downwards with his sharp blade and Blackface’s head toppled to the ground.

Wen Yiji looked at Prince Jin. It was his turn. Swinging his sword, he walked over to the terrified prince.

“It’s your turn to die, prince,” he said emotionally.

“Wait! Wait!” cried the prince. “I have also lain with Lady Phoenix! And one night as a couple is a hundred days of gratitude! You can’t kill me!”

Wen Yiji looked at Phoenix and asked, “Is that true?”

Phoenix nodded her head.

“Well, you certainly live a busy life! However, the same ruling goes,” remarked Wen Yiji. “I can spare only one man. Who will it be? Red Wind or Prince Jin?”

Phoenix looked uncomfortable. Finally, she turned to Prince Jin and said, “I am sorry, prince. But size does matter!”

“What?” cried a shocked Prince Jin. “You mean his one is bigger than mine?”

Phoenix nodded. “Much bigger,” she mumbled.

“You heard the lady!” smiled Wen Yiji, appreciating the humour of the unusual situation. “Prepare to meet your fate, you unworthy prince!”

Prince Jin trembled in terror and shitted in his pants as Wen Yiji approached. Phoenix looked at the prince in pity, but there was nothing she could do. Red Wind mouthed a "thank you" in Phoenix's direction. He would have to thank her properly later. He would impress into her at great length the depth of his gratitude.

Chapter 28: Fulfilling the betrothal agreement

The trembling Prince Jin guessed that his life was about to end. In desperation, he cried out, "Wait! We can talk! I am willing to pay you a large sum of money if you will work with me! And when I become the new Emperor, you will have riches beyond your wildest dreams!"

Wen Yiji laughed, "I am not the least bit interested! Frankly, I would have left you alone. But no, you had to send assassins after me! How did you know that I was travelling south?"

"It's Red Wind's fault!" cried the prince. "It was he who said that you would be travelling down south in a carriage! If not for him, I would have left you alone!"

Wen Yiji turned his face towards the fallen Red Wind and asked, “Well, Red Wind. How did you know that I was travelling south?”

Red Wind answered, “On the night of the assassination attempt on the Emperor, I was staying in the Small Shibai Inn and you walked past me carrying a short bow. The waiter told me later that you had been making inquiries about the condition of the road down south and thus I concluded that you were travelling south. I had a room that had a window that looked out to the stable of the inn. That night, I could not sleep. So I opened the window and I saw you getting your carriage out of the stable. That attracted my attention because it was highly unusual for a carriage to travel at night. Much later, I learned that the Emperor was saved by a man called the One Eye Snake who carried a short bow. I then concluded that you must have been the One Eye Snake. By then, you had already left Shibai.”

“There is one other thing. I saw a man on horseback carrying a cage of birds,” said Wen Yiji. “Who was he?”

“He was the Birdman. His job was to locate you and then give us information on what you were doing by using homing pigeons,” answered Red Wind. “What happened to him?”

“He got killed by a vampire,” replied Wen Yiji. “Did he send you much information about me?”

“He gave us details about your carriage and your horses,” answered Red Wind. “Your carriage had a special design and was pulled by one horse. Another horse was tethered to the back of the carriage. The Birdman sent us a message that you defeated the Eighteen Immortals that Prince Jin had sent after you. After that, there were no more messages. I guess that you must have used the Birdman’s pigeons to track us here.”

“You guessed correctly,” noted Wen Yiji. “What is the name of this place.”

“It is called the Bamboo Villa.”

“Who owns it? Sun Cheong?”

“No,” replied Red Wind. “I think the Seventh Prince owns it.”

“Your swordplay is quite impressive and has better finesse than mine, but you do not have my raw strength and speed. Judging from your sword strokes, I would say that you are a decent man. Why do you work for Prince Jin?”

Red Wind let out a long breath before saying, “I owe him a debt of life. Some years ago, while my wife and I were travelling with my three sons, we were under attacked by a team of mad bandits. They killed my entire family. I was injured badly and still attempting to fight off the bandits. Prince Jin and his men happened along and they sent the bandits fleeing, thus saving my life. In the process, Prince Jin lost a bodyguard. Seeing that I had some kungfu, Prince Jin asked me to take the place of the dead bodyguard. Since I owed him my life, I agreed.”

“Prince Jin plotted to assassinate the Emperor! You are part of the team.”

“I am not aware of any plot to kill the Emperor! I will not knowingly do anything that will injure my Emperor,” protested Red Wind. “My job was solely to protect Prince Jin.”

“In that case, you have failed in your job!” noted Wen Yiji. He kicked the kneecap of Prince Jin suddenly.

Craaaaack!

Prince Jin fell to the ground, clutching his right kneecap in agony.

“I think I will break every bone in this useless animal before decapitating him!” said Wen Yiji nonchalantly.

“Wait!” yelled Red Wind, “Please do not kill the prince!”

“Do you think that I am in the mood to listen to you?” snarled Wen Yiji. “Be grateful that I have decided to spare you your life!”

“No, no!” said Red Wind. “You cannot kill the prince!”

“And why not?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Because I have lain with him and one night as a couple is a hundred nights of gratitude!”

“Wh....what?” roared Wen Yiji. “Like that also can?”

“Yes,” said Red Wind. “I judge that you are a fair man. In that case, you should also offer me the same terms that you offered Lady Phoenix!”

“If it is true, then I will let the prince go!” said Wen Yiji. “However, I do not believe that you have lain with the prince!”

Turning to Prince Jin, he asked, “Did Red Wind speak the truth?”

“Of course!” said Prince Jin desperately. “We are a couple!”

“According to Phoenix, his thing is much bigger than yours,” noted Wen Yiji. “If that is the case, then I am guessing that you must be his bitch. Tell me, are you his bitch?”

“Yes, yes! I am his bitch!” cried the prince.

“Say that again! And louder this time!” commanded Wen Yiji.

“I am his bitch!” yelled Prince Jin. He would say anything to save his own life.

Phoenix was disgusted by it and she turned her face away. She thought that a man should have dignity even in the face of death.

“Hahahahaha!” laughed Wen Yiji. “This is so funny! But somehow, I do not believe you two! However, I will give a chance to Red Wind to save the prince’s life!”

Wen Yiji walked up to Red Wind and instructed him to get up on his feet.

“Red Wind,” he said. “I am about to deliver a death dealing blow to Prince Jin. Will you be willing to take the blow on his behalf?”

“I owed a debt of life to the prince,” replied Red Wind. “I will take the blow!”

“You don’t have to do this,” remarked Wen Yiji. “I have already spared you your life. You should know that my power is immense. If you take this blow on the prince’s behalf, you will most probably die!”

Red Wind mulled this fact over before answering, “I am aware that your power is great and that you have defeated Chui La Pah, the Eighteen Immortals and Sun Cheong. However, a debt of life is still a debt of life. I will take the blow!”

“Good!” noted Wen Yiji. “You have principles. Do you have any last words to say to the prince before I deliver the blow?”

“Yes,” replied Red Wind. He turned towards Prince Jin and said, “Prince Jin. I owed you a debt of life once! Today, I will take a deadly blow on your behalf. Whether I live or die after this, I will consider that I have repaid you the debt in full!”

Wen Yiji turned towards the prince inquiringly.

“Take the blow!” yelled the prince. “Stop talking so much!”

Wen Yiji drew back his right hand. Then he took in his breath and gathered his energy before striking.

Foooooommmm!!!

Red Wind flew across the room and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. He lay still, very still.

Phoenix cried, “No! Red Wind, no!”

She ran across the room to his inert body.

Wen Yiji walked to Prince Jin and tapped him on the head. The prince fell unconscious. Wen Yiji searched his body and found some letters. He looked at them and grinned. Then he kept them.

As Phoenix tried to straighten up the body of Red Wind, she noticed that he was still breathing.

“Red Wind! You are alive!” she cried in surprise.

Red Wind turned weakly towards Wen Yiji and said hoarsely, “Thank you great swordsman, for showing great mercy under your hand! I know that you did not use your full strength!”

“If I am not mistaken, I have broken one of your ribs,” said Wen Yiji drily. “I have not paralyzed your kungfu, so you should recover in due time. You should take this opportunity to leave the prince. Soon, the Emperor’s men will catch up with him. Everybody who is associated with him will face the death penalty. It is to be expected that any disciple of the dead Chui La Pah will also be hunted down mercilessly. You two have only tonight to escape!”

Red Wind and Phoenix nodded.

“And another thing,” continued Wen Yiji. “You will forget that I ever existed. I have spared both of you. Do not attempt to come after me or I will be forced to kill you.”

Wen Yiji then left the hall. He went to the stable and painstakingly removed the booby traps targeting his carriage. He moved the sacks of bones of his family to the carriage. He then drove out his carriage out of the Bamboo Villa to the spot where Shi Mei was waiting anxiously for him.

“Brother Wen!” she greeted him. “Are you all right?”

“Of course!” he answered her cockily. “They did not give me any trouble. It was like a walk in the park!”

“Don’t tell me that you killed everybody in there,” she said.

“Almost everybody, I think,” he answered her. “Prince Jin was the one who sent the killers after us. He was in there, but I did not kill him.”

“You must have your reason. Was it because you experienced a sudden wave of merciful emotions?”

“Of course not!” he replied with a grin. “I am smart enough to know how royalty works. If I kill Prince Jin, the Emperor is bound to send investigators to track me down. If the Emperor kills Prince Jin, then there will be no consequences to bear!”

“I am not sure that I understand, but I am glad that you are back in one piece! Let me take a look at your injuries.”

She took his pulse and declared, “Slight internal injury, I think.”

“I hit Sun Cheong of the Buddha Palm and his internal energy sent me flying to the wall and I got banged out of shape,” he explained.

“No wonder you looked like something the dog dragged in.”

“If you think I look bad, you should have seen the wall!”

“Cocky as ever! Your confidence level does not seem to have been affected!” she said as she poked two needles in his back and twiddled them to rebalance his energy for faster healing.

“I recovered our stuff,” he said. “However, it seems like everybody knows that we are travelling south. To avoid further trouble, we will have to change our route. Also modify the design of this carriage.”

“There is nothing unusual about this carriage except that it has an odd contraption sticking out for you to mount a side umbrella in case it rains.” she noted.

“That is my special design, but it has to go,” he said regretfully. “And we will change the horse as well. After that, we will head for the east and attempt to cross the Yellow River further downriver.”

“What about the floods?” she inquired.

“I heard that the floods have subsided,” he replied. “We will have to try our luck. This is a route that people will not expect us to take. We will be less likely to be noticed. After we are on the south bank of the river, we will head to your fathers grave so that I can pay my respects."

“All right,” she nodded in agreement.

“There is one more thing that I have to do,” he said.

“What is that?” she asked.

“I have to pay one more visit to the Emperor!” he replied.

+ + + + + +

Later that night, a young eunuch was passing an internal courtyard in the Palace grounds when he was accosted by a lone masked figure.

“Hey, eunuch,” said Wen Yiji easily. “What is your name?”

“Huh?” uttered the surprised eunuch. “I am…..Eunuch Wee.”

“Well, Eunuch Wee,” said Wen Yiji. “Can you please go tell the Emperor that the One Eye Snake would like an audience with him here?”

“Who…..who….are you?” asked the young eunuch.

“I just told you,” replied Wen Yiji. “I am the One Eye Snake. I was the one who saved the Emperor’s life the other night. Can you go ask the Emperor if he can see me? Tell him that it is very important!”

“Wait…..wait here,” requested the eunuch. “I will go ask the Emperor!”

The eunuch fled. Unknown to him, he was being followed by an invisible Wen Yiji. The eunuch turned several corners before coming to the door of a huge room. He opened the door and entered.

In the room, the Emperor was holding a meeting with his generals, Wan, Tu and Foh.

“Generals Wan, Tu and Foh,” the Emperor was saying in displeasure. “We can’t find Prince Jin! We can’t find Blackface or any of Chui La Pah’s disciples! And we can’t find the One Eye Snake! It looks to me that we can’t find shit!”

The three generals hung their heads in shame.

Eunuch Wee approached the Emperor and bowed.

“Emperor,” Eunuch Wee said, “There is a masked man in the Chrysanthemum Courtyard. He said that he is the One Eye Snake. He wishes to see the Emperor.”

“The One Eye Snake?” asked a surprised Emperor. “General Foh has been looking high and low for him and he now turns up at the Chrysanthemum Courtyard?”

“Yes, Emperor,” said the eunuch. “He seeks an audience with you.”

“This is an opportunity!” declared General Foh. “We will trap him in the Chrysanthemum Courtyard. This time, even if he sprouts wings, he will find it difficult to fly away!”

“I did not say that we are going to trap him!” said the Emperor testily. “In case you have forgotten, he saved my life!”

“This man wears a mask in your presence, Majesty,” argued General Foh. “Who knows what his real motives are! As long as he is able to come and go in the palace, he is a threat! We need to unmask him!”

“If he is a threat, he would not have saved me!” said the Emperor.

“He may not be a threat now, but he can be a threat later,” countered General Foh. “We have to know who he is. I beg the Emperor to take this opportunity to unmask him. I can send the soldiers to surround the courtyard. It will be locked up so tight that no one will be able to leave.”

“Let us not be rash,” countered General Tu. “He just saved the Emperor’s life. If we force him into a tight corner, he will think that the Emperor is without gratitude.”

“The interests of the Emperor outweigh everything else!” insisted General Foh. “We need to act while he is still there!”

Finally the Emperor assented, “Okay, surround him, but do not hurt him. I just want to talk to him! I will request that he takes off his mask.”

Wen Yiji, crouching invisibly in the room, heard the whole conversation with disgust.

“Fed up!” he muttered. “I saved the Emperor and this is how I am getting repaid! I’ll teach that meddling general a lesson!”

Soldiers were swiftly dispatched to the Chrysanthemum Courtyard to surround it. Soon, it became apparent that there was nobody in the courtyard. The soldiers looked at each other stupidly.

Eunuch Wee, hurried down the corridor towards his quarters. Halfway, a voice stopped him.

“Eunuch Wee,” called out Wen Yiji. “Did you tell the Emperor that I wish to see him?”

Eunuch Wee stared at the masked figure before replying, “You! You were supposed to be waiting at the courtyard!”

“I know!” said Wen Yiji with a laugh. “But I needed to go to the toilet and I did not want to do it in the courtyard. It may cause uneven growth in the plants, you know? So I walked here and there and then I lost my way.”

“Let me guide you back to the courtyard,” suggested the eunuch.

“No need to trouble you,” said Wen Yiji. “I just wanted the Emperor to know three things. First, tell him that Prince Jin is hiding in a place called the Bamboo Villa outside the town, in the southeast sector. Second, he was carrying on his body these letters that were sent to him by Concubine Lin. Please hand the letters to the Emperor! Third, tell him not to trust General Foh. The man is too ugly to be honest!”

Wen Yiji handed over the letters that he had taking from the body of Prince Jin. Then he vanished.

The eunuch went to the Emperor and handed over the letters while saying, “Emperor, the One Eye Snake has left. He wanted you to know that Prince Jin is hiding in the Bamboo Villa outside the town, in the southeast sector. He asked me to give you these letters that were sent to Prince Jin by Concubine Lin.”

The Emperor read the letters and his face turned dark.

“There is one other thing,” said the young eunuch.

“What?” barked the Emperor.

“He said to tell you not to trust General Foh! The man is too ugly to be honest!”

The Emperor stared in front of him for a while. Then he sent word to General Foh to call off the men surrounding the Chrysanthemum Courtyard.

As a disappointed General Foh was going down the steps, an invisible leg reached out and tripped him. The general fell. He shot out his hands to break the fall, but an invisible hand banged down his head onto the hard stone steps and he lost all consciousness.

“The general has tripped!” a voice shouted. Several soldiers carried him up to the top of the steps and just as they were reaching the top, somebody gave a mighty shove and the general dropped and rolled down the steps.

“Oh, shit!” cried one of the soldiers who had been carrying the general. “Who was it who shoved? We dropped the general!”

As the unconscious general rolled down, an invisible fist hit him in several places and broke eight ribs. Wen Yiji, who was the hidden cause of the whole event, grinned wickedly. The general would take at least half a year to recover.

Quickly, Wen Yiji made his way to where he had left Shi Mei, and together they drove the carriage to the east. The moon was more than half full and there was just enough light to see the road.

+ + + + + +

At the Bamboo Villa, Phoenix had just finished putting both the injured Red Wind and the unconscious Prince Jin to bed. There were dead people strewn about everywhere and she left them where they were. She would leave at first light in the morning.

All of a sudden, she heard noises of men moving about outside the villa. She went to investigate and to her consternation, she discovered that soldiers had arrived and that they had the villa completely surrounded.

Quickly, she roused Red Wind from his sleep. “Red Wind,” she cried urgently. “Soldiers have arrived! If we do not escape now, we will be caught!”

“I am injured and will not be able to run,” he said. “You run!”

“Don’t talk garbage! I did not save your life in order for you to get arrested!”

“Phoenix,” he said. “You have saved my life and therefore you have my eternal gratitude. Now save yourself. You may be able to evade the soldiers in the dark. I’ll only be a hindrance to you!”

“We’ll use the tunnel!” she whispered urgently. Her keen ears had picked up the sound of soldiers opening the outer gate.

“Tunnel? What tunnel?” he asked.

“The secret tunnel out of here! Prince Jin showed it to me,” she replied hurriedly. “The Seventh Prince, who owns this place, had a secret tunnel dug in case of emergencies!”

With a sweep of her hands, she lifted him up bodily from the bed and then ran out of the room. She rushed him along a corridor to another room and then another. She opened a secret door, pushed Red Wind through it and then closed the secret door behind her. They were in some sort of tunnel. He held a lighted torch as she carried him bodily along all the way until the tunnel ended at a rock. She pushed aside the rock and they found themselves at the other opening of the tunnel. In the distance, they could hear the soldiers in the villa grounds arresting the kitchen staff and any servant still alive.

“There are usually a few horses kept here,” she said.

“Where?” he asked.

She pointed. Near the tunnel opening was a hut. They found three horses in there.

“I am indebted to you again,” he said. “Er…..are we in some sort of relationship?”

“I guess so,” she answered. “Although they say that a relationship based on lust is not a true relationship.”

“Actually, a relationship based on lust is the most exciting kind of relationship!” he laughed.

“You are a good man, Red Wind,” she smiled. “But I am not a good woman.”

“I am not interested in a good woman!” he said with a naughty grin. What he really wanted was a slut, he thought.

He grabbed her and kissed her full on the lips while his hands lowered down to fondle her ass. For a while, they locked lips. Then she pushed his hands away and exclaimed, “If you are well enough to do that, then you are well enough to ride!”

He laughed with her as she helped him up a horse. His chest hurt, but he managed to stay on the horse. Together they rode off in the night, leaving Prince Jin to his fate.

Prince Jin was still unconscious when General Tu found him. The soldiers had the errant prince brought to the Summer Palace. When he woke up the next day, he found that he was behind bars.

The Emperor spent the next few days questioning the few survivors from the Bamboo Villa. He learned how Prince Jin was invited by the Seventh Prince to stay at the place. Finally, he managed to piece together a credible story on what had transpired at the Bamboo Villa.

Some evenings later, Prince Jin and Concubine Lin were brought to the Emperors presence and forced to kneel.

“So,” remarked the Emperor. “You thought that you could have me killed!”

“I do not know what the Emperor is talking about,” remarked Concubine Lin.

“You need not attempt to deny,” said the Emperor. “I have here the letters that you wrote to Prince Jin detailing my movements. Also, I have already sent my soldiers to arrest the staff at the San Feng temple in the Imperial City. I am sure I can get somebody to testify that you two have been together there. In a bed in a secret room behind the altar!”

“How did you know……I am innocent!” cried Prince Jin, shocked that the Emperor has found out about his trysts with the concubine in the San Feng temple.

“Innocent?” asked the Emperor. “You killed off my sons one by one! And you sent some foreign assassins to kill the Fifth Prince. At a cost of four thousand two hundred taels of silver!”

“How could you have known that?” blurted Prince Jin.

“The Emperor knows all things,” said the Emperor. “It’s of no use to hide things from me. Both of you will be dealt with severely!”

“No!” cried Concubine Lin. “It is not my fault! Prince Jin seduced me!”

“What?” cried Prince Jin. “You did not say that when you were moaning under me!”

The Seventh Prince was then brought before the Emperor and made to kneel.

“My seventh son,” intoned the father. “I am disappointed in your role in this whole obscene affair. Witnesses told me that on the night that the flute player almost killed me, you went to warn Prince Jin to hide in the Bamboo Villa. You were willing to let me die so that you could take over the throne! You are a disgrace to the royal family! That cannot go unpunished!”

“What are you going to do?” retorted the unrepentant son. “Kill me? Don’t forget that I am your only surviving son! If you have me killed, you will end your lineage as well!”

“That does not bother me,” said the Emperor. “I will just go and have another son.”

“Do not attempt to bluff me,” said the young prince. “It is a known fact in the palace that ever since you had the hunting accident a few years ago, you were not able to father any more children. Even your best daifus could not help you overcome your medical condition!”

“You are beyond all hope,” said the Emperor. “From now on, I will cease to treat you as a son!”

“Is that right?” sneered the young proud prince. “I am your only son now and you know it!”

The Emperor remained silent for a while. Then he gave a hand signal. A young man in resplendent clothes entered the hall. As he walked over to the Seventh Prince, the man greeted, “Hello, Seventh brother! I wish you would not refer to yourself as an only son!”

“The Fifth Prince!” gasped Prince Jin. All his efforts to stop the Fifth Prince had failed.

“Fifth brother!” whispered the Seventh Prince, scarcely able to believe his eyes. “Oh….shit!”

“I got here last night,” explained the Fifth Prince. “Many of my men have died at the hands of assassins. But the fates have been kind to me and I survived!”

The Emperor smiled grimly. Then he pronounced the judgment, “The Seventh Prince is of my blood, so I will not kill him. However, he will be kept a prisoner in a tiny cell in the basement inside the palace where he will live out the rest of his days in total darkness without any visitors. Prince Jin is my brother and of my father's blood. I will not kill him. For his role in this dastardly plot, he will be incarcerated in the Li-Khor prison. Royal Concubine Lin has betrayed the Emperor in the most heinous manner. By the rules of the Imperial Palace, such a concubine will be suffocated to death. However, I will spare her family and clan.”

On hearing the pronouncement, Royal Concubine Lin fainted.

The Emperor gathered his Generals and announced, “Tell the men to get ready. We are leaving the Summer Palace for the Imperial City tomorrow morning!”

+ + + + + +

Ten days later, the Emperor’s entourage reached the Imperial City. Prince Jin was immediately taken to Li-Khor prison by General Tu.

“Where is Warden Sai?” demanded General Tu.

“He went on leave,” answered Ah Chong the jailor, not daring to say that Warden Sai had disappeared a long time and that nobody knew where he was.

“Who is in charge here?” asked the general.

“Temporarily, I am,” said Ah Chong.

“I have a new prisoner for you,” said General Tu. “He is Prince Jin. The Emperor wants him to be kept in a cell of his own. Can you arrange it?”

“Of course,” replied Ah Chong.

Prince Jin was then led in chains to Ah Chong who took over the prisoner. Ah Chong led the prisoner to the new wing but one of the jailors told him, “There is no room here. We will have to put him up in a cell together with some other prisoners.”

“No,” said Ah Chong. “My orders are to put him in a cell of his own.”

“I heard that some prisoners just died in the old wing,” remarked an old jailor. “The cell will be empty. You can put him there.”

“All right,” said Ah Chong. “You can take him to the old wing.”

Ah Chong walked away. The old jailor then led Prince Jin to the old wing of the prison and handed him over to Lazy Snake, the young jailor there.

“Hey, Lazy Snake,” said the old jailor. “Ah Chong wants you to put this prisoner in a cell of his own.”

“I don’t have an empty cell,” grumbled Lazy Snake.

“Yes you have!” said the old jailor. “I know that some of your prisoners died last night. So you have space!”

“But I don’t think that the undertakers have finished clearing out the corpses yet!” said Lazy Snake.

“That is your problem!” said the old jailor. “I am leaving him here with you.”

With that, the old jailor left.

Lazy Snake stared angrily at Prince Jin and asked, “What is your name?”

“I am Prince Jin,” the prince replied.

“Oh yeah?” said a disbelieving Lazy Snake. “A real prince? Come with me, prince!”

The jailor opened the heavy wooden door that opened out to the old wing. Prince Jin was then led through the door, down a corridor to a cell where there were two dead bodies inside.

“That is your cell,” said the young jailor.

“There are two dead bodies in the cell!” said a shocked Prince Jin.

“So?” asked Lazy Snake. “If you do not disturb them, they will not disturb you!”

“I am not staying in there!” said Prince Jin.

“What….you think this is a five-star inn, issit? You think you can choose your own sleeping arrangement, issit?” snarled Lazy Snake. “This is a prison, in case you have not noticed!”

“I am still not staying in there!” insisted Prince Jin. “I am a prince and I demand treatment equal to my status!”

“All right!” said Lazy Snake. “I will temporarily put you in a cell with some other prisoners first until the corpses are cleared out.”

With that, the young jailor took Prince Jin to the next cell, which was the last cell there. He took his keys and opened the cell door before pushing Prince Jin inside. Then he locked back the cell door and walked away.

Prince Jin looked at his new surroundings. There were five tough-looking men inside.

“Who are you?” the prince asked.

“We are the Luan Luan Kan Gang!” a gruff voice answered. “And who are you?”

“I am Prince Jin!” replied the prince. “Clean a spot for me so that I can sit down!”

There was a sudden silence.

Finally, another voice spoke, “A prince? Ahhhh……delusions of grandeur!”

The gruff voice shouted, “Hey…..has anyone here ridden a prince before?”

Four voices answered, “No,”

“Do you want to?” asked the gruff voice.

Four voices answered, “Hell, yes!”

The five members of the Luan Luan Kan Gang grabbed hold of the prince. He tried to resist, but resistance was futile. They pulled down his pants forcefully and held him down as they rode him mercilessly one by one. Prince Jin screamed for the jailor, but Lazy Snake was attempting to sleep in his chair and was too lazy to come to investigate.

“Stupid idiot!” grumbled Lazy Snake on hearing the faint screams through the locked wooden door of the old wing. “Dunno kao peh kao bu for what? Disturb my sleep only!”

When the ordeal was finally over, Prince Jin sobbed. He was on his way to becoming the new Emperor, he thought. All his grand plans were dashed to hell because of one man. Only one man! And now, he was in a prison cell being treated as a bitch. He sobbed again.

One of the gang members said, "He is crying! We should console him!"

"You are right!" agreed a rough voice. "Once our depleted energy has recovered, we will definitely console him!"

+ + + + + +

Days later, in a little town south of the Yellow River, Wen Yiji and Zheng Shi Mei knelt before the grave of her father, Physician Zheng. Wen Yiji paid his respects to Physician Zheng with a tinge of sadness. He remembered the old man fondly. Everybody was dead from the two families except for Shi Mei, him and his younger sister in Tsinkiang.

"Shi Mei," said Wen Yiji. "There is a betrothal agreement between your family and mine. I am the only surviving son, so you will have to marry me. Did your father have a particular wedding date in mind?'

"No," replied Shi Mei. "He only said that a girl has to be married within one hundred days of her father’s death."

"How long ago was it since your father passed away?"

"It has been ninety-eight days now."

"In that case, we shall get married tonight!"

"Tonight? So fast? But I am not ready! We need to prepare the red cloth!"

"When is the earliest that we can prepare the red cloth?"

"Tomorrow morning, I guess."

"Then we will get married tomorrow afternoon!"

The following afternoon, they were married. Wen Yiji wasted no time in getting her into bed.

"Brother Wen," she asked. "Isn't this thing supposed to wait till night?"

"Why waste time?" he said. "Besides, once the bridal wine has been drunk, the bride is supposed to take off her clothes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

She smiled shyly and took off her clothes under the bedspread. Wen Yiji stripped off his clothes and joined her. She leaned against his chest, feeling comfort in his proximity. He looked down and saw her nipples. Gently, he cupped her bust and caressed the smooth firm flesh. She moaned and melted under his caresses. Then he felt her fingers exploring him below. A scientific hand wrapped her fingers around his manhood and explored every bulging vein. He grinned, pushed her flat down and then bent his head over her nipples, teasing them with his mouth. Halfway, the thought occurred to him that he was the lucky son of the Wen family who ended up marrying the talented good-looking daughter of Physician Zheng. Who would have thought that his fortune would be that good?

His hand caressed her bush and she spread out automatically. He could not wait any more. Positioning himself, he rammed his hardness into her, burying himself deep inside. She gave a little cry as her cherry popped.

“My husband….” she said with a quivering voice and trembling limbs.

“What is it, my wife?” he asked with concern.

“Nothing…… carry…..carry on,” she responded.

Slowly, he rocked her world. Her fingers clutched the muscles on his back and her moaning got louder and louder. Soon, he could not hold off the moment any longer and his seeds of passion erupted inside her, filling her completely. They held each other tenderly as they kissed.

“Husband,” she purred contentedly. “What are the duties of a good wife?”

“Well, everybody says that a wife should Work Intensively, Fuck Extensively,” replied Wen Yiji exhaustedly before he could stop himself. “Hence the term ‘wife’.”

“What?” she said. “I have to work?”

“It’s all right. I have servants,” he replied. “You can delegate all the work to the hired help. As for the other remaining duty……”

“That, I will do myself!” she said.

“That’s my girl!” he laughed.

Chapter 29: Homecoming

The pirate ship anchored off the coast and a rowboat from the ship was seen heading for the shore. When the boat, which was filled with several men, reached land, a distinguished-looking bearded man got out. He stared at the surroundings as the boat headed back to the pirate ship. He was glad to be on land. It was the beginning of winter and he hated sailing at that time of the year.

A lone swordsman on the shore walked briskly up to the bearded man and knelt down. The kneeling man greeted, “Humble pupil Kotekichi greets Grandmaster Hattori!”

The bearded man looked at Kotekichi and grunted, “I got your message. Tell me again; how did the Kansai Killers meet their death?”

“They were killed by a lone archer by the surname Wen, Grandmaster,” answered Kotekichi. “Arahkiri, Kaninaya and Bunuhsuma the Savage all died! In some sugar cane fields.”

“Who is this Wen fella?”

“He is a carriage driver from Tsinkiang.”

“Did you engage this Wen in battle?”

“No, Grandmaster. I arrived at the scene just in time to see Bunuhsuma die at his hands! I was hidden in the cane fields and so I was not seen.”

“Why did you not go to Bunuhsuma’s aid and confront the archer?” demanded Grandmaster Hattori.

“I would not be his match,” Kotekichi admitted shamefacedly.

Grandmaster Hattori glared at him. Then he said, “Take me to the graves of my three dead disciples.”

Kotekichi led him to a tree under which two horses were waiting. Together, they rode off without a further word exchanged between them. Towards late afternoon, they stopped by three small mounds on the ground.

“Grandmaster Hattori,” said Kotekichi respectfully. “These are the graves of Arahkiri, Kaninaya and Bunuhsuma.”

Bowing before the graves, Grandmaster Hattori swore grimly, “My disciples! Your death will not go unavenged! Or I would not be considered the greatest ninja in the whole of the Eastern Islands!”

Turning to Kotekichi, the older man commanded, “Now, take me to this Wen archer.”

“I do not know where he is, Grandmaster!” said Kotekichi.

“What do you mean? Did you not say that he was in Tsinkiang?”

“Yes I did! I found out from one of the waiters of one wayside inn that the archer was called Wen and came from Tsinkiang. I went to Tsinkiang to trace out all the Wen families. There were more than a hundred Wen families living there. I traced every Wen family, but could not detect the Wen archer among them!”

Grandmaster Hattori fumed. “You are a useless dog!” he shouted. “Baka yaro!”

Kotekichi knelt before him, not daring to get up. Finally, Grandmaster Hattori instructed him, “Take me to Tsinkiang! I will look for the man myself!”

Together, they traveled to Tsinkiang. On arrival a few days later, Grandmaster Hattori threw some yarrow sticks on the ground and examined their pattern before pronouncing, “Let us conduct our search in the eastern sector of the town!”

Kotekichi was amazed. He had heard that Grandmaster Hattori was capable of using the ancient art of divination. However, this was the first time that he had seen Grandmaster Hattori perform it.

There were only three Wen families in the eastern sector. None of them appeared to fit the bill.

Grandmaster Hattori threw his yarrow sticks on the ground again. He frowned.

“What is it, Grandmaster?” asked Kotekichi.

“The duck restaurant,” said the older man. “Blood will flow!”

“Oh, you mean the Wen family duck restaurant? Of course blood will flow. They slaughter a lot of ducks!”

“I do not mean duck blood!”

“I hear that they also slaughter chickens for the menu.”

“I don’t mean chicken blood either, baka yaro!”

“I do not know what you mean, Grandmaster. But the restaurant is run be a young girl. According to my information, she has an older brother who has not been seen for months.”

“Something tells me that we need to keep that restaurant under observation!”

“Yes, Grandmaster.”

+ + + + + +

Grasshopper, the servant boy, came up to Xiang Xiang and whispered, “Mistress Xiang Xiang. The two foreigners are here again!”

“Locals or foreigners, they are our customers, Grasshopper,” said Xiang Xiang. "We do not disciminate!"

“But they like to order duck backsides all the time!” said Grasshopper. “They don’t seem to understand that one duck can have only one backside! Where got so many backsides to sell?”

“You leave the business aspect to me, Grasshopper! Now go and pour them some tea!”

Obediently, Grasshopper went to the table and politely asked, “Would you gentlemen like more tea?”

“Ahhh so,” said Grandmaster Hattori.

“You mean ‘yes’?” inquired Grasshopper.

“Ahhh so,” said Grandmaster Hattori again.

Grasshopper pour out the tea for Kotekichi and Grandmaster Hattori. He looked at them curiously.

“Where are you from?” the boy asked.

“Mind your own business!” said Kotekichi. “And bring us a couple of duck backsides!”

“Sorry, no more duck backside!” said Grasshopper. “Chicken backside you want or not?”

Kotekichi glared at him and said, “No!”

“Suit yourself,” remarked Grasshopper airily as he left.

Grasshopper was sweeping the front yard when Kotekichi and Grandmaster Hattori left the restaurant. As they walked past him, Grasshopper noted to himself, “Dunno what kind of shoes they are wearing. Looks like some imported design.”

He examined the footprints that they left in the sand and pursed his lips. “These men have small feet!”

That evening, Kotekichi asked, “We have been eating at that duck restaurant for ten days now. I think we are starting to attract attention.”

“Of course we will attract attention!” fumed Grandmaster Hattori. “How can we not attract attention if you keep on consuming so many duck backsides?”

Kotekichi hung his head and then asked, “How long are we going to continue to survey the duck restaurant?”

“I do not know,” replied Grandmaster Hattori. “Something tells me that this duck restaurant has something to with the death of your fellow Kansai Killers. We will wait for the return of the owner of the restaurant and then decide what to do.”

“And if the owner does not return for a few years, do we also wait for a few years?”

“Ahhh so……you have a point,” said Grandmaster Hattori. “I think I will go to the duck restaurant tonight to snoop around. I may find something.”

+ + + + + +

“Grasshopper! Where are you?” the sound of Xiang Xiang’s voice called out in the night air.

Grasshopper froze. He was up a tree in the inner courtyard. A bird had made a nest in one of the branches and he hoped to catch it while it was sleeping. He planned to sell it to young Master Chuen down the road for a tidy profit. However, he also knew that Xiang Xiang had forbidden him from catching the birds in the courtyard. She would have him punished if she found out. He kept very still inside the tree. Soon Xiang Xiang’s voice trailed off. Grasshopper heaved a sigh of relief, but he remained very still.

Suddenly, the sound of a footfall nearby alerted him that someone was around.

“Oh shit!” he thought. “Xiang Xiang is here looking for me! Better have an explanation ready! But what?”

He peered out among the leaves of the tree hoping that it was not Xiang Xiang. The moon was bright enough for him to see Xiang Xiang if she was there. However, there was no one there.

Squishhhhh!

The sound of a footfall on the wet ground near the well in the courtyard alerted him to the direction to look.

Again, he saw no one.

Then, under the bright moonlight, he thought he saw a footprints appearing before his eyes, one after another.

“That is impossible!” he thought. “Footprints do not form on their own!”

Grrrrrrrrrr!

The lazy dog that usually slept in the courtyard woke up with a growl. It sniffed the air and stared ahead. It growled continually without barking. Then, it walked forward hesitantly to investigate.

Whaaaaaaaaaaakkkk!

Grasshopper thought he heard somebody hit the dog. The next moment, the dog fell to the ground yelping with pain.

“What on earth happened out there?” the voice of Xiang Xiang called out. “Grasshopper, are you out there bullying the dog again?”

A few servants came out to the courtyard to investigate. The dog stopped yelping but it growled in the direction of the roof.

“What is wrong with the dog?” asked Xiang Xiang as she entered the courtyard. “Do we have an intruder?”

Grasshopper quickly emerged from the tree. He went to look at the dog which had quietened down by now.

“The dog is bleeding,” he announced. “Somebody hit it!”

“That means that we have an intruder,” said Xiang Xiang. “Bring the other dogs here and conduct a search!”

Grasshopper went over to the well and then called Xiang Xiang over. Pointing to a footprint on the ground, He said, “This footprint was made by the intruder!”

Xiang Xiang held a lighted torch to the ground to take a better look.

“Oh, it’s him!” cried Grasshopper.

“Who?” asked a mystified Xiang Xiang.

“Him!” answered Grasshopper. “The bearded customer who kept saying “Ahhh…so......Ahhh…so” all the time! I recognize the footprint made by his shoe!”

“Did you see him?” she asked.

“No,” he replied. “But I saw the footprint forming on the ground! That man must be a ghost!”

“Do not talk nonsense!” rebuked Xiang Xiang. “Where were you when you saw the footprint being formed?”

“I was up the tree,” he replied.

“And what were you doing there?”

“Nothing! I was doing nothing! I swear!”

“So you went up the tree to do nothing and then you saw the foot print being formed by a ghost…..a ghost who whacked the dog until it bled. Is that it?”

Grasshopper nodded.

Xiang Xiang kept quiet. The whole thing sounded ridiculous. Yet there was the hard evidence of the bleeding dog and the footprint in the courtyard. It was very puzzling. However, Grasshopper stuck to his story.

“Let us confront the two foreigners about tonight’s episode,” the boy suggested.

“No!” said Xiang Xiang firmly. “We have no witnesses.”

Grasshopper tried to argue, but Xiang Xiang silenced him.

+ + + + + +

At the inn where they were staying, Kotekichi asked Grandmaster Hattori, “Did you find out anything?”

“Yes,” the older man replied. “I saw an assortment of weapons inside the house. The girl keeps a pair of butterfly swords in her room. This is not an ordinary restaurant family, but a kungfu family. We shall continue to keep them under observation.”

+ + + + + +

In a little back alley, two young boys met among the stray cats.

“Little Knife greets Big Brother Grasshopper,” said the younger boy respectfully.

“No need to be formal,” said Grasshopper. “Does Little Knife have the information I want?”

“Of course. Little Knife has done as Big Brother requested!”

“Good. Let’s hear it!”

“I followed the two men to the Tiam Tiam Khoon Inn where they were staying. Then I made casual inquiries. The chamber boy told me that the two men were from the Eastern Islands. The older one was called Grandmaster Hattori and the younger one was called Bakayaro.”

“Bakayaro?”

“Yes, Bakayaro. On some occasions, Grandmaster Hattori called him Kotekichi. But it was mostly Bakayaro!”

“What business brings them here to Tsinkiang?”

“Nobody knows. They do not appear to be traders and they also do no work. The chamber boy told me that on one occasion they both got drunk and then Bakayaro declared that they will avenge the death of the Kansai Killers!”

“You mean the Kanasai Killers.”

“No, no! The chamber boy was positive that it was ‘Kansai’ and not ‘Kanasai’.”

“Hmmmmph……very odd.”

“Big Brother, I think that these two men are ninjas. Two years ago, some foreigners came to Tsinkiang and I overhead somebody say that they were ninjas. They walk in a certain manner. Grandmaster Hattori and Bakayaro have the same kind of walk. That makes them ninjas.”

“Thank you for your information, Little Knife.”

“If Big Brother has any further instructions, Little Knife will be honoured to comply,” said Little Knife respectfully. He was proud to be a member of the loose network of street kids who serve Grasshopper. He was old enough to know that being loyal to Grasshopper paid dividends. Huge dividends.

“That will be all. Keep your eyes open and inform me about anything unusual,” said Grasshopper.

“Yes, Big Brother!”

Grasshopper then handed over a package to Little Knife and said, “This is for your trouble.”

“Thank you, Big Brother!” said Little Knife happily. Quickly, he opened the package. In it were two chunks of meat from a roasted duck. As Grasshopper walked off, Little Knife munched away happily in his own little heaven.

+ + + + + +

Several days passed. Grasshopper was busy serving the guests. He poured tea for every table except for the table where Grandmaster Hattori and Kotekichi were seated. Xiang Xiang had forbidden him from confronting the two foreigners and so he had reacted by refusing to pour tea for them.

A carriage pulled up in front of the duck restaurant and a man got out. He then helped a lady down from the carriage and they stretched themselves after the long and arduous journey.

“Brother Yiji!” shrieked Xiang Xiang as she ran out excitedly to greet her older brother. “Brother Yiji! You are back!”

“Yes, Xiang Xiang! How is everything at home?” asked Yiji.

“Everything is fine, brother Yiji,” she replied. “What about you?”

“I am fine,” he replied. Turning to Shi Mei, he introduced, “This is Xiang Xiang, my little sister!”

“I see that you brought home a friend,” said Xiang Xiang.

“Xiang Xiang,” said Wen Yiji. “This is your sister-in-law, Shi Mei.”

Xiang Xiang’s jaw dropped. “You got married?” she asked.

“Yes,” laughed Wen Yiji. “About two months ago! Shi Mei is from the Zheng family. Our two families had a betrothal agreement.”

“Oh!” she cried, trying to remember a betrothal agreement. “The Zheng family…..Zheng family. That sounds familiar. Something to do with a Physician Zheng?”

“Ah….you remembered!” exclaimed Shi Mei.

“Yes!” said Xiang Xiang bowing. “Xiang Xiang greets her sister-in-law!”

Shi Mei acknowledged the greeting. She could feel that she would like her new home.

At the table in the restaurant, Kotekichi stopped biting on the duck backside and garbled, “That’s him! That’s the one who killed our men!”

Grandmaster Hattori stared in the direction of Wen Yiji and made no reply. “Continue eating!” he instructed Kotekichi curtly.

Grasshopper had just walked into the restaurant from the kitchen. He looked over at the two foreigners and saw that their attention was occupied by the carriage outside. He looked in the direction of the carriage and saw Wen Yiji.

“Wa piang! My master has returned!” he exclaimed as he rushed out to greet his master.

Wen Yiji introduced Grasshopper to Shi Mei and then they all went inside. Xiang Xiang and Grasshopper left the restaurant chores to the other servants as they both went to prepare the master bedroom for Wen Yiji.

“I was expecting you in mid autumn! Not early winter!” said Xiang Xiang, ”Why were you so late?”

“I got delayed!” explained the brother. “Has Grasshopper been behaving himself while I was gone?”

“Of course!” said Grasshopper indignantly. "Nobody behaves better than me!"

Xiang Xiang laughed and said, “He has kept himself very busy observing two of our foreign customers. He thinks they are ghosts!”

“No, they are not!” said Grasshoppers. “They are ninjas!”

Wen Yiji’s attention picked up. He asked, “Why do you think that they are ninjas, Grasshopper?”

“Well,” said Grasshopper. “A few days ago, some intruder came into our inner courtyard during the night. He left a footprint which has the same size and pattern as that of one of the two foreign customers!”

“Did you see him?” asked Wen Yiji.

“That’s the weird thing; I did not see him!” answered Grasshopper. “But I heard him! And the ground….one moment there was nothing, and the next moment there were footprints. This intruder was like a ghost. However, everybody knows that ghosts walk on tip toe. But the intruder left a full footprint! So he was not a ghost! I think he was a half-ghost…..one of those hybrids between man and ghost. Maybe a ghost father and human mother. Or human father and ghost mother!”

“First, you said that he was a ninja. Now you say that he was a half-ghost," said Wen Yiji with amusement. "You have a very rapid imagination. What happened then?”

“Then the dog growled at the intruder. But suddenly the dog got hit until it bled! It was all very mysterious!”

“Why didn’t the intruder attack you?”

“I was hiding in the tree so he could not see me.”

“What were you doing in the tree at night?”

“Er….I forgot. I think I must have been just minding my own business.”

“In the tree?”

“Yes.”

Turning to his sister, Wen Yiji asked, “Was anything stolen?”

“No,” replied Xiang Xiang. “Nothing was taken. Maybe the intruder was snooping around when he got frighten by the dog!”

“I will beat the shit out of him if I catch him snooping around here again,” declared Wen Yiji. "And then, I will hold him for the dog to bite!"

“I will help you beat him up, Master Wen!” declared Grasshopper. “He won’t find it so easy to get away this time! I have prepared a special Super Category No Comparison booby trap for him that will string him up in the air like a dead chicken hung up to dry after seasoning! Do you know what I think? I think that the two foreigners are involved! I’m sure of that! I do not know why they are so interested in us but my source tells me that they are in town to avenge the death of some Kansai Killers.”

Wen Yiji froze. He remembered the Kansai Killers. And they were ninjas. In a calm voice, he told Grasshopper, “Tell me what you know about them.”

“There are two of them,” explained Grasshopper. “Both are from the Eastern Islands. One appears to be the sifu and the other appears to be the disciple. The older man is called Grandmaster Hattori and the younger one is called Bakayaro,…..sometimes called Kotekichi as well. The younger one can really eat a lot of duck backsides. The older one eats duck backside also but not so much. They drink their soup by slurping noisily from the bowl. Currently, they are both staying at the Tiam Tiam Khoon Inn.”

“How did you manage to find out all that?” asked Wen Yiji.

“I have connections all over town,” declared Grasshopper. “If you want to know anything important, I am your man!”

“How long have the two foreigners been here?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Half a month now,” the boy replied. “Everyday, they would come here for lunch and occupy one table for a long time. Did you see them just now? They were looking at you intently when you returned.”

“Let’s go out and take a look at them,” said Wen Yji. Grasshopper followed him out.

A short while later, they returned. In response to Xiang Xiang’s inquiring look, Grasshopper said, “They are gone!”

Xiang Xiang looked thoughtfully at her brother for a moment. She sensed that something was bothering her brother. She sent Grasshopper out of the room and then asked, "Brother Yiji. Is something the matter?"

Wen Yiji paused for a few moments before answering. "Several months ago, I came across an assassination attempt just a few days’ journey north from here. The assassins chased their quarry through some sugar cane fields. I knew one of the men that they were chasing. He told me that the assassins were ninjas and had already killed a hundred of their men. Their blades were so sharp that they sliced through the wooden shafts of their spears. He then told me that there were only three or four of those ninjas but yet they did considerable damage."

"They sound formidable," commented Xiang Xiang.

"Yes," said her brother. "I then raced my carriage out of there, but one by one, the ninjas came out of the cane fields to attack me and so I killed them one after another. There were three of them. I suspected that there was a fourth Kansai Killer hidden in the cane fields who did not reveal himself."

"The one called Kotekichi!" guessed Shi Mei.

"Yes," said Wen Yiji. "I do not know how he traced me to my home. He must have gone to get the Hattori guy to help him take revenge. Very likely, they will come to kill me tonight!"

"Just two of them?" asked Xiang Xiang. “They must be really confident!”

"Or very skillful," said Wen Yiji. "Thy have very good swords and they move at great speed. From now on, I want you to be prepared for any eventuality. Keep your butterfly swords close to you at all times.”

“Yes brother Yiji,” said Xiang Xiang. “What about the servants?”

“At nightfall, I want everyone of you to lock yourselves up in your rooms. Bar all the windows. I want you to stay safe in case we come under attack! I will deal with the two foreigners myself.”

"Shall I fight them together with you?" asked Xiang Xiang.

"No, Xiang Xiang," replied Wen Yiji. "Your Celestial Dragon Claw may be good, but the Kansai Killers are faster than you. Besides, you don’t have the killer instinct! I would rather that you lock yourself up in your room. Have the booby traps in the house been kept in good condition?"

"Yes, brother," she replied. “They were checked periodically.”

“Good,” he said.

“After Xiang Xiang had left, Shi Mei turned to Yiji to say, “It is strange that the intruder left footprints without being seen. Do you suppose that he could turn invisible like you?”

“Highly unlikely,” replied Wen Yiji. “It can’t be so coincidental. Grasshopper always had a vivid imagination. He once said that he saw a bright object hovering above the air. It was shaped like a saucer, he claimed. That boy would say just about anything. I wonder what he was really doing up that tree. Some mischief, probably.”

“Boys will be boys, husband,” said Shi Mei. “All boys tend to do a lot of stupid things when they are young.”

“You are right about that,” he said.

“We must not preclude the possibility that the intruder has the power of invisibility,” she said. “Then you will not be able to see him. I cannot help wondering about the outcome if two invisible men were to fight. Who will win?”

“That will be a most unusual situation,” he laughed. “Two invisible men will not be able to see each other. How then can they fight each other?”

“I think that the one who can detect the other first will win!”

“And how can one do that?”

“I don’t know. Either by sound or by smell. Take your pick.”

“By the way, I do not wish anyone in this household to know of my invisibility. I have no wish to seen as someone who is not entirely normal.”

“Actually, you are not entirely normal!” laughed his wife.

“True!” he countered. “But I do not wish anyone to know that!”

That evening, Xiang Xiang prepared a good homecoming feast for her brother and new sister-in-law.

“This is the best duck that I have ever tasted, Xiang Xiang!” declared Shi Mei.

Xiang Xiang beamed with pride. She was the same age as her sister-in-law and she instinctively knew that they would bond well together.

A simple ceremony was held and Xiang Xiang knelt down and offered a cup of tea each to Wen Yiji and Shi Mei.

“My brother and sister-in-law,” she said. “I wish both of you white head till old.”

In return, she received a red packet from her brother and sister-in-law.

Next was Grasshopper’s turn. Offering the tea, he said, “lim ta ta, nseh lam pah!”

“What’s that?” asked Shi Mei, not understanding.

“He means that you should drink till the cup is dry so that you will give birth to a male offspring!” explained Xiang Xiang.

Shi Mei laughed shyly. The couple drank the tea and Grasshopper got his red packets.

One by one, the servants offered the tea and Shi Mei was acknowledged as the mistress of the Wen family. This place would be her home for the rest of her life.

Chapter 30: Conclusion

Xiang Xiang could see that her brother Yiji was glad to be home. She hoped that the homecoming feast that she had prepared for him and her new sister-in-law was to their satisfaction. Shi Mei impressed her. She noticed the easy manner by which Shi Mei chatted with Wen Yiji and the respectful manner by which he accorded her.

“He seems so domesticated!” Xiang Xiang mused to herself. “Almost a totally different character! Not like the ruffian that he was last year! And Shi Mei exudes a confidence that is unusual for a girl her age.”

Shi Mei’s voice sounded in her direction, “Your brother once told me that you were a great cook, sister-in-law. I can see that he was not exaggerating!”

Xiang Xiang blushed and said. “It is nothing! My skills are very rough. I hope that you find the food suitable to your taste!”

“Where I come from, many men will fight to marry a girl with your culinary talents!” laughed Shi Mei.

“Oh…..many men want to marry her!’ contributed Grasshopper. “They are just waiting for Master Wen to come back before they send their matchmakers!”

“Who are these many men, Grasshopper?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Let me see,” said Grasshopper deep in thought. “According to my sources, there is Master Si Khiaw Khiaw, whose father owns a funeral parlour. Then there is the pig seller Master Lao Tu. He is willing to give twenty pigs as dowry. Twenty pigs…man…..chiak beh liao! Then there’s Master Sim Tua Tua who has two wives and is looking for the third. That one no need to consider lah. Become third wife….what for? After that there is Master Kao Chap Cheng whose mother is a Chinese and father is a dunno-what-nese. It may be interesting to see what the offspring of the union will look like..…”

“What? All rubbish people!” cried Wen Yiji. “My sister will marry better than that!”

“I do not have to marry, brother Yiji,” said Xiang Xiang. “I am quite content to stay with the Wen family and work in this restaurant for the rest of my life!”

“You have to marry well, Mistress Xiang Xiang,” said Grasshopper. “You marry dog, you become dog. You marry chicken, you become chicken. After that you work like cow and horse. If I can offer you my considered opinion…..”

“We have enough of your opinions, Grasshopper,” interrupted Wen Yiji. “Now help clear the table. I want everyone to be safely in their rooms by nightfall!”

As by their custom, the servants ate only after the master of the house had eaten. The only exception was Grasshopper, who had sat at the same table as the Wen family. The servants had learned long ago not to question why Grasshopper was accorded special treatment. It was the way of the Wen family and they accepted it.

Wen Yiji escorted Shi Mei to their bedroom. Instead of walking along the corridor, they took the route through the inner courtyard.

“This courtyard looks a bit bare, husband,” commented Shi Mei. “Would you mind if I do a little gardening here now and then?”

“Maybe you should expend the effort in our own garden,” said Wen Yiji. Then he explained, “I have three houses, side by side. This one will go to Xiang Xiang when she gets married. The next one will go to Grasshopper when he grows up. As for us, we will take the last unit. It is not furnished yet, so I will have to get a team of carpenters to work on it. Then we will choose a good date to move in. And you can landscape the courtyard according to your wishes.”

Shi Mei looked at him. Her curiosity was aroused and so she commented, “There must be a good reason why you are providing a house for Grasshopper. It cannot be because of his exemplary skills as a servant boy. What is the real reason?”

“I have certain family obligations to Grasshopper. He thinks that he is only a servant boy in this house. However, he is related to the Wen family,” he said. “But I have not told him yet. When he is much older, I will explain certain things to him.”

They stopped at a weird looking contraption and Wen Yiji looked at it with displeasure.

“What is this rope?” asked Shi Mei.

“Oh, that….” explained her husband. “That is Grasshopper’s new booby trap to catch the intruder if he comes again. What an ugly looking contraption!”

“Interesting design!” she commented. “It looks like something that will snare the leg of an intruder with a rope and lift him high up.”

“He claimed that he could trap wild boars with it! That boy has an imagination far bigger than his talents. I told him that it would most probably end up trapping the dog! But he said that the lazy dog sleeps most of the time. And that it would be too lazy to even go near the trap!”

“In that case, let the trap be.”

“Better not. I will get him to deactivate the booby trap later. I don’t want to have to rescue the dog from it in the middle of the night!”

“And what are those stones strewn on the ground?” asked Shi Mei. “They appear to follow a rough pattern.”

“Oh….that! If you look carefully, the stones follow the loshu pattern. They are to mark the loshu path on the ground. Grasshopper uses that to learn his footwork when he practices his pole work. Xiang Xiang is teaching him how to use the pole in kungfu.”

“The loshu path?” she asked. “I have heard my father mentioned it. However, I am under the impression that it is used in geomancy and not kungfu.”

“The loshu path represents the flight of the nine stars of the Pei Tou,” he said. “The taoist masters step in a way so as to follow the star flight pattern as part of their magic rituals. It is a fanciful way of learning footwork in kungfu so I thought that it would be interesting to adopt it.”

He bent down and picked up a fighting pole from the ground. “I wish that the boy would not leave his poles strewn all over the place!” he said.

“You should get him a rack,” Shi Mei suggested.

“I did!” he replied. “But Xiang Xiang broke it!”

“How?”

“While I was away, she thought that the wooden rack for the poles looked crooked to her. A few days ago, she attempted to twist it back into shape. But then it suddenly came apart in her left hand. She claimed that the wood was inferior when I questioned her today. I told her that the wood was not inferior. She should have been more careful about the Celestial Dragon Claw of her left hand!”

“Celestial Dragon Claw?”

“My sister has this amazing grip with her left hand called the Celestial Dragon Claw. It can crush almost anything! If you ever hold her hand, make sure that it is her right hand!”

“Quite an amazing family you have,” commented Shi Mei. “I see that you have planted a number of young lime plants.”

“That was also my sister’s work. She planted them haphazardly. Gardening is not one of her talents obviously. But she does need a regular supply of lime leaves in cooking her ducks.”

On reaching their room, Shi Mei sat down. She was feeling tired. Maybe she had eaten more than she should, but the food was good. She felt slightly nauseous.

“It’s almost nightfall,” Wen Yiji said after he had closed all the windows. “The intruder may appear any time after that. I had better go and make sure that everybody is in their rooms. Bar the door when I am gone. ”

He took a long bronze fighting pole from a corner of the room. He had purchased it from a weapon maker on his way home. Although a normal person would find the pole too heavy, he could handle it easily with the power of his Dark Fire inner energy.

“Do you wish to take your short bow with you?” Shi Mei asked.

“I don’t think it will be necessary,” he said.

“I’ll leave it outside the door in case you need it,” Shi Mei suggested.

“Oh, all right,” he said.

“And if you need me to blow on the Devil Flute, just give me a signal.”

“You look tired lately. I do not wish you to take part in any fighting.”

“You can lure the intruder to outside the room and I will play the flute from here. As long as he is within twelve steps of me, he will feel the effect of the sounds!”

“All right,” he said, humouring her. “I’ll call if I need your services. But I do not expect that the intruders will give me trouble.”

“And if the intruder can turn invisible, then you must remember that the invisible man can be detected by what cannot be seen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we were married, there was a time when I bathed naked by a stream,” explained Shi Mei. “You were crouching somewhere nearby in your shroud of invisibility but I knew you were there looking at me.”

“Huh….how?”

“I knew that there was a little plant at a certain spot. When I could not see it, there could be only one explanation; you had moved too close to it and your shroud of invisibility had covered it. That was how I knew that you were there!”

“If you knew that I was there, why didn’t you scream or say something?”

“I did not want to embarrass you!” she replied.

Slowly, he grinned. “Damn!” he said. “So the invisible man can be detected by what cannot be seen! Well, I did not intentionally peeped at you! I was there first and then you came along and took off your clothes!”

“You could move away and not look,” she retorted.

“My legs refused to obey me,” he explained. “First time that I peeped at you and I got found out….this is really embarrassing!”

“You don’t look embarrassed!”

“Actually, I am very embarrassed inside!”

“I would say that you are very thick skinned outside!” laughed his wife.

Wen Yiji was still grinning when he left the room. He felt pleased; she knew that he was looking and she allowed him to look! As he left, Shi Mei placed the short bow and a quiver of arrows outside the bedroom before she barred the door. She took out her acupuncture needles and placed them on the table. Fondling her Devil flute, she murmured, “I hope I don’t have to use this.”

Wen Yiji went to the hall outside that served as the restaurant. The restaurant was closed, as it usually was in the evening. The staff occupied one table and was eating their dinner. For a moment, Yiji was tempted to ask the staff to hurry. However, it was his first day back, and so he decided to be patient.

Xiang Xiang had lighted up several lanterns in the restaurant premises while the servants were eating. The sun was just going down. She too wished that the servants would hurry up with their dinner so that they could start on the washing up.

Suddenly, to her shock, Kotekichi and Grandmaster Hattori walked into the restaurant from the door to the inner courtyard. She recognized them as the two foreigners.

“The restaurant is closed,” she gasped. “How did you two get in here?”

“We have our ways,” said Kotekichi.

Everyone turned to stare at the two strangers.

Finally Wen Yiji said, “I am the master of this house. May I be so polite as to inquire what it is that you want?”

Grandmaster Hattori stared at Wen Yiji and said, “Several months ago, you killed three of my disciples! Their ghosts trouble me at night!”

“If their ghosts trouble you, then you should hire a taoist master to capture their ghosts and send them to the eighteenth level of Hell. Then they won’t be able to come out to trouble you again!” suggested Wen Yiji.

“Let me try to make you understand,” said Grandmaster Hattori calmly. “What was taken in cold blood will be paid for in cold blood! Tonight, I will have my revenge!”

“Ahhhh…..I understand now,” said Wen Yiji. “You came here to pick a fight. Whatever I did to your disciples, it was in self defense. I do not kill people for no reason. They have to be very evil or very ugly. But if it is blood that you want, then it is blood that you will get.”

“My disciples were not ugly,” retorted Grandmaster Hattori.

“Actually, they were,” commented Wen Yiji. “We must be very honest about the way they looked. Although they wore face masks, they could not completely veiled their ugliness to the world.”

“I have not told you who my disciples were. Yet you seem to know whom I was referring to,” remarked the grandmaster.

“Of course I do,” explained Wen Yiji. “All of you have the same killing qi that make its presence felt wherever you go.”

“Tonight, we will slaughter everyone in this house!” claimed Kotekichi. “You will wish that you have not met us at all!”

“Hey, will you apply a little bit of common sense here?” asked Wen Yiji. “First I killed some ugly people in self defence. That is understandable. In fact, even commendable! Now you come and say that you want to slaughter everyone for no reason. That is totally immoral! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”

“You dare to call me immoral? The last man who called me that got opened up like a pig with my blade,” claimed Kotekichi. “Prepare to receive death with open arms!”

Wen Yiji sighed. He said, “It looks like you two will not leave without a fight. If we really must fight, then I suggest that we pick a time and place. Let me check my calendar and give you an appointment. I should be free some time in autumn next year.”

“No need to set an appointment,” said Grandmaster Hattori. “The time is now and the place is here. We will battle to the death!”

“No,” said Wen Yiji. “If you fight here, you will end up breaking all the stuff in the restaurant. Then how am I going to run the restaurant properly after I kill you? Please be more considerate!”

“All right,” smiled Grandmaster Hattori. “We will fight in the courtyard outside.”

“Good,” agreed Wen Yiji. “But you must promise to leave my family and servants alone even if you win.”

“I promise,” said Grandmaster Hattori.

“After you,” said Wen Yiji.

Grandmaster Hattori turned to Kotekichi and whispered. “Slaughter all of them once we start fighting in the courtyard!”

Then the grandmaster and Wen Yiji walked out of the hall to the inner courtyard. As soon as they left, Kotekichi closed the door to the courtyard and barred it. He announced fiercely, “Nobody leaves this hall!”

Xiang Xiang was at a loss as to how to respond to Kotekichi. There were two other doors in the hall; one door which was already barred led to the street outside and the other door led to the kitchen.

Grasshopper whispered to her, “Are we going to let this ugly monkey tell us what not to do?”

“Let us wait for a while,” she whispered back. “I want you to gather the servants and take them to the kitchen. This monkey is well armed. If there is trouble, the unarmed servants will be the first to die!”

Grasshopper nodded. Quickly, he gathered the servants to the kitchen while Xiang Xiang faced off Kotekichi.

In the courtyard, Wen Yiji and Grandmaster Hattori stood facing each other in the moonlight.

“You do not appear to be afraid of fighting in the night, Master Wen,” remarked Grandmaster Hattori.

“Of course not, Grandmaster Hattori,” said Wen Yiji.

“You know my name?” asked the older man in surprise.

“Just a lucky guess,” replied Wen Yiji.

“You did not seem surprised at all to find me here tonight. The fact that you are carrying a weapon implies that you have been expecting me. How did you know that I would come tonight?”

“Another lucky guess. By the way, how did you trace me to this place?”

“A lucky guess.”

“We cannot both be so lucky all the time.”

“True,” agreed Grandmaster Hattori. “For one of us, the luck will end tonight! And it will be you!”

“Why is that?”

“Because I have the Kungfu That Rules The Night!” announced Grandmaster Hattori. “Death will come to you in a direction that you will not expect.”

“The Kungfu That Rules The Night?” mused Wen Yiji thinking hard. That could mean only one thing! Invisibility! He thought back to the day when he battled the Kansai Killers. They were so fast that they could avoid his arrows most of the time. Water Spider technique! That was what they were using! It all suddenly became very clear to him. However, he suspected that Kotekichi did not have the power of invisibility yet. Only the old man has it. That was why Kotekichi had to call his grandmaster to come.

“Tell me, Grandmaster Hattori,” he said. “What is your connection to the Ghost Ninja?”

A surprised Grandmaster Hattori said, “You knew the Ghost Ninja?”

“Only very briefly,” replied Wen Yiji.

“Where is he now?”

“He is dead. Killed by one of his enemies.”

“Dead? Hahahahaha! I knew he would come to that sorry end one day!”

“You do not appear to be sorry to hear that the Ghost Ninja is dead. Why is that?”

“The Ghost Ninja’s real name was Banyataro and he was from the Eastern Islands. A long time ago, he and I had the same teacher of the martial arts. When our teacher died, he imparted all his skills to both of us. Banyataro and I became ninjas of the highest repute and we could command a good price for assassinations. But, assassination is a cutthroat business. We had earlier agreed on the price that we would charge for each kill. However, Banyataro started offering promotional discounts. Not content with that, he also started offering group discounts. For every five people, he will kill one extra one for free! My business suffered because of his pricing practices. The last straw came when in instituted a loyalty card programme.”

“What is that?”

“It is a system whereby a customer collects points for having somebody killed. Once you have collected enough points, then you can collect free gifts like a cutlery set or wood carving. Or even a bonsai plant. My business plummeted soon after that. It was obvious to me that one mountain cannot have two tigers. So I challenge him to a duel. The loser would have to leave his sword behind and leave the Eastern Islands for good. I won. Banyataro then handed his sword to me and came over here where he became known as the Ghost Ninja. As for me, I became the most powerful ninja on the Eastern Islands.”

“If you were going to banish him, you could at least give him back his sword.”

“Well, I did not. Which was a good thing, because my own sword fell into the sea one day. This sword here that I am using, is the sword of the Banyataro!”

“Interesting story! So the old man’s real name was Banyataro!”

“What was his relationship to you?”

“I gave him a lift once because it was raining. And I was there when he got killed by his enemy.”

“Enough of this talk. Prepare to die!” said Grandmaster Hattori as he drew his sword. Wen Yiji lifted his bronze fighting pole. Then they charged at each other.

Ping! Ping! Pang! Pang! Ping! Ping! Pang! Pang!

The sound of the sword glancing off the metal pole signified that the battle had begun in earnest. The two men moved around the courtyard fluidly matching each other speed for speed.

On hearing the sounds of fighting, Kotekichi drew his sword with a flash. Xiang Xiang sensed trouble and immediately drew her twin butterfly swords as well. As the ninja advanced on her, Xiang Xiang shouted, “Your grandmaster promised to leave my brother’s family and servants alone! Have you forgotten?”

“I have not forgotten,” sneered Kotekichi. “He promised, but I did not!”

“You people have no honour,” she exclaimed. Then she commanded, “Grasshopper, bar the door in the kitchen! Make sure that the servants are safe!”

“I can fight!” insisted Grasshopper from the kitchen door. “I will beat the shit out of this Bakayaro!”

“You will be the first to die, boy,” snarled Kotekichi. He moved towards the boy but Xiang Xiang blocked his path. Angrily, he slashed down with his blade.

Pang!

Xiang Xiang’s Chicken Knife blocked the blow.

“Kill the Bakayaro!” shouted Grasshopper in encouragement from the open kitchen door. “Chop him up like a roast duck!”

“Will you stay in the kitchen, Grasshopper!” she shouted. “And close the door!”

There was not time to say anything more as Kotekichi attacked. He was faster than Xiang Xiang and she found herself retreating under his onslaught of rapid strokes. Watching from the kitchen door, Grasshopper suddenly leapt upwards to pull on a string along the wall.

“You are in the perfect position for our Surprise Water trap, Bakayaro!” the boy smirked.

Splaaaasssssshhhhhhh!!!

Kotekichi was drenched with water that came from above him. He had moved instinctively away but there was no avoiding the massive amount of water that Grasshopper had unleashed.

Kotekichi looked around him and snarled, “Who did that?”

“The gods did,” replied Xiang Xiang. “They must have decided that you needed a bath because you smell like a pig! I am going to institute a rule that only those who bathe regularly can visit this restaurant!”

“Die, you stupid girl!” he shouted angrily and delivered a powerful side blow at her with his sword. She blocked the blow with her left butterfly sword.

Piiiiaaaannng!!!

Xiang Xiang’s left sword broke into two under the great impact. She was stunned momentarily. The street girl in her emerged and she swore colourfully.

“Kani nai nai….it broke!” she exclaimed, looking at the broken sword. In disgust she threw it away. She knew that the left blade was just an ordinary blade, unlike the Chicken Knife in her right hand. Still, she was unnerved by the easy manner by which Kotekichi had broken her left blade. She hoped that Chicken Knife could stand up to the ninja’s sword.

Kotekichi lashed out mightily again expecting to break the right blade as well.

Paaaannnng!

Chicken Knife withstood the test.

Paaaannnng! Paaaannnng! Paaaannnng! Paaaannnng! Paaaannnng!

Xiang Xiang retreated once more before the powerful onslaught blocking every attack with her Chicken Knife. Kotekichi was moving slower that he usually did because his wet clothes were slowing him down. It was not the most comfortable thing to be wet in the cold wintry air. He would have to take off his wet clothes.

Holding his sword in the right hand and using just his left hand, he tried to slowly remove his upper garment. However, Xiang would have none of that. She recognized the advantage of her enemy in wet clothes so, to his surprise, she attacked. She slashed downwards hard on him with her blade and he had to parry the blow hurriedly with his sword.

Paaaannngg……oiiieerkkk!!!

He retreated and stared at his sword. It was slightly bent but still useable. He had not expected the little butterfly sword to inflict such damage.

“You should not attack me when I was taking off my clothes. It is not honourable!” he scolded.

“You should not take off your clothes in front of a lady,” she countered. “It is not moral!”

He gave up the idea of taking off his clothes. Then, using a combination of strokes, he attacked. However, the slightly bent blade caused him to forego precision in his strokes and Xiang Xiang defended more easily this time. She retreated before him and led him into a position that she wanted. Then she leapt upwards and hit a wooden stop high up on a wooden column with her weapon. Landing on her feet, she retreated again, carefully positioning herself. The next moment, ten darts from a booby trap sprung out from the wall behind her. The darts missed her and flew towards Koteckichi who was four steps in front of her. He leapt sideways to avoid most of the darts and used his blade to deflect those darts that he could not avoid. His bent blade was no more precise and one dart got past the sword and buried itself deep in his left shoulder, causing him to stumble backwards.

“Baka! Baka! Baka!” he cursed in pain. The girl was getting to be a nuisance to handle. He had already fallen prey to two booby traps. The pain in his left shoulder meant that it could be painful to use the two handed grip on his sword. It was time to use another tactic.

Holding his sword in his left hand, he reached inside his body with his right and took out a smoke bomb. He threw it at the girl who parried it away with her weapon.

Phhhhhfffffttttt!!!

The smoke bomb was wet and it could not perform as was expected.

He threw another one.

Phhffttt!!!

The second one was even worse than the first one.

In disgust, he took out the whole lot and threw them at Xiang Xiang. They were all wet, except for one. The only dry one hit Xiang Xiang’s Chicken Knife with a brilliant flash of light and splattered her with smoke. Momentarily, she was blinded. Coughing madly from the smoke, she realized that she could not see a thing and did not know where her enemy was.

Kotekichi moved to his right. Xiang Xiang turned in tandem to face him, tracking him by the sound of his wet squishy shoes on the floor. He suspected that she could have been blinded by his flares but he could not be sure. She seemed to know where he was. He approached her carefully and she retreated, moving around the tables in the restaurant, all the time listening to his squishy footsteps. He walked carefully, mindful of any unknown booby traps.

In the courtyard, Wen Yiji had heard the unmistakable sounds of fighting coming from inside the hall. He knew that Xiang Xiang would not be the aggressive one. It had to be Kotekichi.

“You disciple Kotekichi is attacking my people!” he snarled. “You promised to leave my family and servants alone!”

“True!” replied the older man. “I promised, but Kotekichi did not promise.”

“Call off your rabid dog!” shouted Wen Yiji.

“I cannot,” said the old man. “The door to the hall is closed. What happens inside, happens inside. I think my disciple is happily slaughtering your family. Har har har!”

"You fight dirty!" Wen Yiji snarled in fury. "You will soon learn that I am equally capable of fighting dirty!"

Wen Yiji hoped that his sister would be able to get on top of the situation. There was nothing he could do for her at the moment. If he attempted to enter the hall, the grandmaster would surely follow. With the power of invisibility, Grandmaster Hattori could kill everybody in there easily. No, it was better to take care of the grandmaster in the courtyard.

Although they were both evenly matched in speed, Wen Yiji knew that he had the greater strength from his Dark Fire Iron Palm stance. Wielding the metal pole against the foreigner’s sword, he had already begun to exert his advantage. Even though the grandmaster could parry off the blows of the metal pole, each parry sent reverberations up his body and rocked his bones. The old man could feel the power emanating from this younger man. It was time to use his specialty.

Leaping away to avoid one of Wen Yiji’s pole strikes, Grandmaster Hattori suddenly disappeared from sight. Wen Yiji guessed at once what had happened. As the foreigner bore down on him from another direction, Wen Yiji leaped away and crouched down into a state of invisibility. His small shroud of invisibility could not encompass the long metal pole so he had to drop it. The two men could not see each other.

For a while, nobody spoke or breathed. Finally, Grandmaster Hattori spoke, “I see that you have the ability to turn invisible as well! The Ghost Ninja must have taught you that!”

Wen Yiji turned towards the direction of the voice and spoke, “He passed me his manual on Invisibility just before he died. In a way, you can call him my sifu.”

The next moment, five shuriken were thrown in his direction. Grandmaster Hattori had used Wen Yiji’s voice to track down his location. Wen Yiji had been crouching down and the shuriken flew over his head. But one passed very close to his cheek. Quietly, he shifted his position. He did not know where Grandmaster Hattori was, but he would need his short bow. Carefully, he surveyed the surroundings.

“Shi Mei said that the invisible man can be detected by what cannot be seen The crafty old fox is avoiding all the plants just in case his shroud of invisibility covers a plant and gives away his position to me,” thought Wen Yiji. “He has the advantage. I think he has full invisibility whereas I have only half!”

In the restaurant hall, Kotekichi was wondering why the girl did not appear keen to fight but instead kept fleeing from him. Xiang Xiang knew the restaurant by heart and could walk in there blindfolded without banging into a table. However, when she started banging into some tables that Kotekichi had moved out of their old position, he started to realized that Xiang Xiang was tracking him by the sounds his shoes were making on the floor. He took off his shoes and walked. This time, the girl had to turn her head in several directions. However, the temporary blindness had lifted partially and she could detect shapes out of the corners of her eyes.

Quietly, Kotekichi approached Xiang Xiang from her left and slashed down with his sword. She saw a shape coming at her and instinctively lifted her butterfly sword to block it. Kotekichi held his sword against her Chicken Knife and pressed down, expecting her to give way. Xiang Xiang decided that she would have to break his sword with her fingers. She reached out her left fingers expecting to grip the bottom part of his blade. She missed and found herself gripping his wrist instead. Kotekichi was surprised to see Xiang Xiang reached out with her free left hand and gripped his right wrist that was holding the sword.

“Trying to get friendly?” he leered in her face. “You wanna hold my hand?”

The next moment, he uttered a soundless scream of agony as the Celestial Dragon Claw of Xiang Xiang’s left hand asserted its force. The fingers of steel crushed his wrist into a bloody pulp in one rapid motion. In a moment of wild desperation, he kicked out with his leg and it landed on her stomach sending her flying. Her head banged against the edge of the table and she fell to the ground almost unconscious. Kotekichi gritted his teeth and hit two yuedao points on his right arm using his left hand. His right hand went numb immediately and thus he could not feel the pain. His long sword had dropped to the floor. Instead of picking it up, he used his left hand to pull out the shorter sword tucked in his waist. It was lighter and would be easier to handle with his injured left arm. He would have to kill the girl fast before she got up.

“Xiang Xiang is down!” exclaimed Grasshopper who was peeping at the scene from a crack in the kitchen door. “But the intruder is hurt also! We can take him!”

The boy opened the kitchen door immediately and rushed out with a wooden pole. He was followed by two other male kitchen hands; one carried a meat chopper and the other carried a wooden stool. Grasshopper plunged his pole into the face of Kotekichi who avoided it easily. The ninja stepped backwards as Grasshopper unleashed a combination of pole strikes that he had learned from Xiang Xiang. Kotekichi stared at the young boy and the two kitchen hands who did not look at all like fighters. He would have laughed if his right wrist had not been crushed.

Grasshopper attacked again. His strokes were very basic and not particularly powerful and so Kotekichi used his legs to block them. A powerful kick from the ninja sent Grasshopper’s pole flying away. The two kitchen hands suddenly became very nervous and retreated slightly.

Xiang Xiang stirred groggily. Her head had hit a table and the pain caused tears to flow from her eyes. The tears cleared her vision somewhat and she could see slightly better. Grasshopper had bought her the time she needed. She got up and swore, “Kick me in the stomach, did you? Bakayaro! I’ll chop you up like dead fish and feed you to my ducks!”

Holding up her Chicken Knife before her, she advanced two steps, trying hard not to wince at the pain in her stomach. Kotekichi retreated. He realized that he was at a disadvantage. His right hand was practically useless and he was wielding a sword in his left hand, his weaker hand. On top of that, and there was still a barb in his left shoulder. On the other hand, the girl did not appear seriously hurt and her eyesight seemed to have recovered. She was still blinking furiously but he knew that she could see. Her grip had told him that she possessed an internal energy that was greater than his. This was a dangerous opponent. He would have to get out of the hall and let his grandmaster handle her. He would fight his way to the door if necessary. The girl did not appear to be particularly aggressive so it should not be a problem.

“Let’s get him with another booby trap!” suggested Grasshopper. He had magically produced another pole from somewhere.

“Good idea,” answered Xiang Xiang. “What do you suggest?”

“Let’s get him with the Watermelon Surprise booby trap where the secret arrows shoot at his head like a watermelon,” the boy suggested. “He is in the correct position.”

Kotekichi immediately jumped away from where he was standing. Xiang Xiang smiled. There was no such thing as a Watermelon Surprise booby trap. She knew that she could kill Kotekichi if she wanted to. However, she did not want to. This was her restaurant. Nobody had ever died in her restaurant. It was a record she intended to keep.

In the courtyard, Grandmaster Hattori noticed Wen Yiji’s metal pole lying on the ground. He knew the reason why; the shroud of invisibility had its limitations and would not be able to cover a long pole fully. A partially visible pole would give away his position. That meant that his opponent was without a weapon! The grandmaster smiled. He could swing his sword wildly without having to worry about a return strike from the metal pole.

Silently, Wen Yiji made his way to his room where his short bow and arrows were outside the door. He had to use the open spaces and avoid passing near to any pot or plant that might give away his position. Suddenly, he froze. He was sure that the foreigner was somewhere nearby but he did not know where. The slight sound of the wind bouncing off the sword reminded him of the danger that he was in. He leapt skywards immediate even as the Grandmaster Hattori swung the sword.

Grandmaster Hattori saw the lower legs of Wen Yiji momentarily even as the younger man leapt away.

“What? You are only half invisible!” he sneered. “You did not complete the full course! Har! Har! Har! I defeated your sifu once! Today, I will defeat his student as well!”

Learning from experience, Wen Yiji kept quiet. He reached his short bow and arrows where Shi Mei had left them. Swiftly, he took them.

Grandmaster Hattori thought that he heard the clatter of arrows. He looked towards the master bedroom. He was sure that he had noticed a short bow on the floor moments before. It was gone now. That could mean only one thing; Wen Yiji’s shroud of invisibility was covering it! The next moment, he rained loads and loads of shuriken at the spot.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Shi Mei was in the room when she heard the sound of projectiles hitting the wall and floorboard outside. The fighting had gotten near to her. She held the acupuncture needles in her hands and got ready.

A short distance away, Wen Yiji waited. Sure enough, the grandmaster approached the bedroom to see if Wen Yiji had been killed. The grandmaster saw the shuriken all over the place in the corridor outside the master bedroom. There was one patch that the shuriken had not landed. Maybe they had, and maybe Wen Yiji’s invisibility was covering it. Should he continue raining shuriken or should he use the sword? As a fighting weapon, the shuriken could create a nuisance for the enemy but the sword was much more reliable as a killing instrument. The grandmaster’s plan was to rush through the corridor swinging his sharp blade at anything and everything. His blade was very sharp. A half-invisible being would be sliced open just the same as a visible being. He stepped onto the corridor.

A tiny creak of the floorboards alerted Wen Yiji. In the room, Shi Mei too knew that someone was outside. She was not sure if it was an intruder or her husband. Suddenly, she heard her husband call, “Play your music, Shi Mei. Now!”

Swiftly, she inserted two acupuncture needles at the back of her neck as she breathed in. On the outward breath, she lifted her Devil Flute and blew.

Grandmaster Hattori was within twelve steps of Shi Mei when the Sounds of Hell hit him. He froze as his head filled with an intense pain that was totally unfamiliar. The old ninja had never felt such a great terror enveloping his body before. He did not know what it was, but whatever it was, it emanated from the room. He had to get away fast. Struggling, he moved his feet. The Sounds of Hell interfered with his invisibility and for a brief moment, he could be seen. Then he became invisible again. But during that brief moment, Wen Yiji saw his frame and knew where he was standing. Wen Yiji shot at the spot even as Grandmaster Hattori sprang away.

Shiiiuuukkk!!!

The arrow hit the ninja in the calf of the left leg.

“Urgnnnnhhh!” sounded the grandmaster as he tumbled to the ground in the courtyard. He had successfully broken out of the twelve step radius of the Devil Flute. Drunkenly he moved about trying to clear the pain his head.

“Where the hell is he?” asked Wen Yiji silently. “The loshu path…..one of the stones is missing! I know where the old bastard is!”

Wen Yiji shot again.

Shiiiuuukkk!!!

The second arrow pierced the thigh of the left leg of the grandmaster. The ninja overcame his pain and hurriedly changed his location. He stumbled away drunkenly in time as Wen Yiji fired a few more arrows at the spot.

Twwaaaaaaannnnnnnnnggggg!!!

Wen Yiji turned around. The ridiculous booby trap that Grasshopper had fixed had been sprung!

“Sono kuso yaro!” the grandmaster cursed as his left leg was pulled upwards by a rope. It was a crude trap and the rope did not quite succeed in suspending the intruder upside down in midair from a tree branch as intended. Seeing that a rope had pulled his leg upwards to the level of his chest, Grandmaster Hattori angrily flashed his sword at the offending rope.

Wen Yiji could see only part of the rope and guessed that there was would be an invisible subject attached the other end which could not be seen. He shot off an arrow wildly even as Grandmaster Hattori’s sword sliced off the rope.

Shiiiuuukkk!!!

The speeding arrow hit the body of the grandmaster in the left knee.

“I think I hit something invisible!” thought Wen Yiji. “Anyhow shoot also on target!”

“Oh…..baka…..my left leg again” cursed Grandmaster Hattori silently. “Why is this idiot always shooting at my left leg?”

He tried to leap away, but the three arrows in the left leg prevented him from using his lightness kungfu effectively. He landed somewhere that he hoped to gain some respite temporarily. The archer was somewhere near, but where? Blood dripped out from his left leg to the ground. He decided to stand still and not make a sound while he tried to figure out how to get on top of the situation.

Crouching low somewhere behind, Wen Yiji tried to detect signs that would give away the location of Grandmaster Hattori. He could not hear a thing except for some sounds that emanated from Shi Mei’s flute. Suddenly, Shi Mei stopped playing.

A drop of blood from the thigh of Grandmaster Hattori dripped out of the wound and hit the ground.

Plop!

The sound came from just three steps in front of Wen Yiji, near enough to be heard, and he released the arrow unthinkingly.

Shiiiuuukkk!!!

The arrow hit the grandmaster even as he moved away swearing silently, “Baka! That’s the fourth arrow in my left leg already! Why is he targeting only my left leg?”

Grandmaster Hattori knew that his options were limited. With four arrows piercing his left leg, his lightness kungfu was ineffective. He could limp and hop but he would not be able to jump over the rooftop and escape. Not only that, he would leave tracks on the ground as he walked. He shuffled away as silently as he could, looking for an exit from the courtyard.

Wen Yiji leapt from place to place, attempting to detect a trace of his enemy. The moonlight was enough to allow him to see that the grandmaster had left footprints on the ground.

“Footprints!” he thought to himself. “This Hattori is not using lightness kungfu. Why? Judging from the footprints, he must be injured in the left leg. The footprints have ended on harder ground and now I can’t make them out. Not unless I turn visible and allow my eyes to see more clearly. But that would make me a target!”

A movement near a lime bush made him swing his bow around. He was about to shoot when he noticed that the target was not the intruder, but the dog. The lazy dog. It was looking in front of it and growling softly.

“The dog can smell the foreigner!” thought Wen Yiji excitedly. He dropped down behind the dog, pulled back his bow and fitted three arrows. Then he aimed at the direction where he thought the dog was looking.

Shiiiuuukkk!!! Shiiiuuukkk!!! Shiiiuuukkk!!!

Grandmaster Hattori avoided two arrows successfully but he went down as a fifth arrow thudded into his left leg. He screamed in anger and frustration, “Why are you always shooting at my left leg! Can’t you find somewhere else to shoot?”

Wen Yiji fired off another arrow at the direction of the voice but the grandmaster had already changed his position and the arrow sailed past him harmlessly.

Suddenly, there were flares and smoke clouds appeared everywhere in the courtyard.

“The ninja is trying to escape!” guessed Wen Yiji. “He is trying to confuse my senses with the flares and smoke bombs that he has! There are only two exits from this courtyard. One north and the other south. Which one will he take?”

Grandmaster Hattori could not put his weight on his left leg anymore. It was too painful. He could walk on his hands alone and lift his body upside down in the air, but that would make him an easy target for a chance arrow. He decided that it would be better to stick close to the ground and therefore make a smaller target. All thoughts of killing Wen Yiji were gone. Only one thing occupied his mind; escape!

Silently, Grandmaster Hattori sheathed his sword and dropped down to the ground. Then, by shifting his weight alternatively to his hands and right leg, he moved around, trying to make his way to the north exit.

The lazy dog had been growling quietly beneath a lime bush. It smelt Grandmaster Hattori moving past him slowly. It smelt the blood flowing from the grandmasters left leg.

The dog thought, “This thing that I cannot see……it hit me the other day! It made me bled! I should take revenge and bite it back! But maybe, I should learn to let bygones be bygones. There should not be a vengeful bone in my body! Forgive and forget! An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind!”

Grandmaster Hattori took another step past the dog.

The lazy dog thought again, “This thing that I cannot see….it is trespassing on my territory! My territory! How dare he? I should show him who is boss around here! I am the top dog here and no one else! But, again, perhaps this world was meant to be shared. We are all creatures of the same universe. We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving. We are the world!”

Grandmaster Hattori had now moved past the dog.

The lazy dog thought once more, “This bleeding thing that I cannot see…..it is tempting me! It is fresh meat! It is foreign meat……and therefore imported meat! What kind of self-respecting sonofabitch am I if I were to pass up this fantastic opportunity? The world can go piss on itself!”

With its animal mind made up, the dog then darted forward. Guided by smell alone, it located the bleeding leg of Grandmaster Hattori and sang its fangs into his ankles. Then it attempted to drag the grandmaster backwards, growling noisily as it did so.

Attracted by the commotion, Wen Yiji leapt towards the dog. He could not see the head of the dog, which was shrouded in invisibility, so he knew roughly the location of Grandmaster Hattori. Sailing in the air over the dog, Wen Yiji shot an arrow.

Shiiiuuukkk!!!

Grandmaster Hattori had unsheathed his sword and was about to kill the dog when the arrow hit him in the chest. He gasped and clutched at the arrow sticking out from him.

Shiiiuuukkk!!!

Another arrow from Wen Yiji hit him in the abdomen. The old ninja knew that he was done for. There would be no escape. And it was all the fault of the stupid dog!

With his internal system in a mess, the grandmaster turned visible momentarily. Remembering how he used to turn off his invisibility by inserting an acupuncture needle in the collarbone area, Wen Yiji shot an arrow into Grandmaster Hattori’s collarbone area. The arrow had the same effect as the acupuncture needle; it prevented the grandmaster from turning invisible again.

Wen Yiji stared down at the fallen grandmaster who was lying on his back on the ground. He then reached down and hit Grandmaster Hattori with a sequence of punches on the body. When he was through, the ninja’s body went inert.

The door to the restaurant hall suddenly opened and Kotekichi ran out into the inner courtyard.

“Grandmaster!” he called out, confident that his grandmaster must have been victorious in battle. “Grandmaster!”

Grasshopper would have followed him out but Xiang Xiang stopped him. She took up a position at the door just in time to see the Kotekichi’s body flying backwards through the air. She at once guessed what had happened; she had seen the Dark Fire Iron Palm at work before. However, she could not see her brother. Suddenly, he appeared nearby and instructed her, “Tell everybody to stay inside, Xiang Xiang. I don’t want anybody out here!”

Xiang Xiang was glad that her brother was okay. She told everybody to go back to the kitchen again, including Grasshopper. They acquiesced obediently. Nobody argued with Master Wen in the Wen household. Wen Yiji then called Xiang Xiang out and they went to check on Shi Mei.

“Listen,” he told the two women. “We want to keep a low profile in this town. It is not good for people to know that we had people dying here! The two intruders have been immobilized but are not dead yet. I will take them somewhere to make their disappearance permanent. Officially, we will tell the servants and everyone else that the two intruders had escaped!”

Shi Mei and Xiang Xiang nodded. Wen Yiji then tied the bodies of the two intruders to horses. Then he led the horses out into the night. Somewhere near the cliffs by the sea, he stopped the horses. He took down the bodies of Grandmaster Hattori and Kotekichi. They were still alive but barely. Wen Yiji held up the sword that Grandmaster Hattori had been using earlier.

“You said that this sword once belonged to the Banyataro, the Ghost Ninja,” said Wen Yiji. “He was my sifu. Therefore, his sword belongs to me now!”

“He has ……. a worthy…….student in you,” gasped Grandmaster Hattori.

“Thank you,” replied Wen Yiji. “You are almost dead. I can wait for you to die or I can make it a quick death for you. Which do you choose?”

“Make…..it…..quick…..” gasped Grandmaster Hattori.

“And Kotekichi?” asked Wen Yiji.

“You want to kill, kill lah!” said Kotekichi bravely. “Talk so much for what?"

“Make…..it…..quick…..for the bakayaro too…..” gasped Grandmaster Hattori.

"Wait!" yelped Kotekichi. "Let's not be hasty! You don't have to kill me!"

“You heard your grandmaster,” said Wen Yiji. He swung the sword and Kotekichi’s head dropped off the shoulders. Another swing took off the head of Grandmaster Hattori. He threw both the heads far out into the raging sea below the cliffs. As he was about to throw in the bodies, he searched them on impulse. On Kotekichi’s body, he found a porn book.

“How to Copulate Successfully with a Female Ninja without getting Killed,” he read the title. “Naaaahhh…..I don’t need this shit. Too basic!”

He threw the book away and the searched the body of Grandmaster Hattori. Again, he found a book.

“Well, I’ll be!” he exclaimed softly. “The Manual of Invisibility! So you also had a copy!”

Quickly, he leafed through the pages. Slowly, he grinned and said, “I think I shall take the full course and achieve full invisibility! Yes! I will master the Kungfu that Rules the Night!”

Without further hesitation, he swung the two bodies over the cliff far out into the sea where they sank into the watery depths.

When he got back home much later that night, the servants had already been sent to bed. Shi Mei was in Xiang Xiang’s room tending to her injuries.

“How do you feel?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Much better now,” answered Xiang Xiang. “The pain has subsided.”

“I held peeled onions under her nose to induce crying,” said Shi Mei. “I think the tears had cleared out the tiny particles that landed in her eyes. The bleeding on her head has dried. She took a nasty kick in the stomach which caused internal injuries. I boiled her some herbs to drink and inserted six needles in her just now. She should be all right in a few days.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law,” said Xiang Xiang. “You do have the healing touch. I feel quite safe in your hands.”

“Just try to rest,” said Shi Mei. "You will be fine."

"I am sorry to be so much trouble," said Xiang Xiang. "I have never been injured like this before. I think I am not cut out to be a fighter."

"Actually, you fought well," remarked Wen Yiji. "With his skills, the bakayaro guy could easily slice through ten Imperial Guards. You did well to hold him off. Did any of the servants get injured?”

“No,” replied Xiang Xiang.

“What about Grasshopper?” asked Wen Yiji.

“He is all right,” replied Xiang Xiang. “He was very helpful. He set off the trap that drenched Kotekichi to the skin. Then when I was down, he challenged the intruder with his pole to buy me time to get up. I am grateful to him.”

“I am glad that boy has some sense in him,” said her brother.

“Brother Yiji?” said Xiang Xiang. “Don’t you think that we should tell Grasshopper about our connection to him? I believe he has earned the right to know!”

“All right,” grunted her brother. “He is twelve years old. I will find a suitable time to tell him.”

+ + + + + +

Several days later, the Wen family knelt down before the new graves at the family gravesite. They offered prayers while a taoist priest conducted the ceremony.

“That is it,” said Wen Yiji. “All of the bones of our family members that we took back from the Imperial Capital have now been reburied here. It is a good spot.”

Shi Mei turned to her husband and said, “It was very kind of you, husband, to dig up the graves of my father and mother and to bring their bones here for reburial as well.”

Wen Yiji looked at the new grave of Physician Zheng and said, “Your parents had no sons and you were their only child. It is only right that I transfer their remains here so that you can visit their graves to offer respect.”

After they had paid their respects to the dead, Wen Yiji stood before his father’s grave and called Grasshopper over.

“Grasshopper,” he said. “This grave here is my father’s grave. He was your mother’s brother. That makes him your uncle.”

Grasshopper did not know if Master Wen was serious. He looked towards Xiang Xiang for guidance.

“It is true, Grasshopper,” explained Xiang Xiang. “We are about to let you in on a big secret. Your mother and my father were siblings, both born by the same mother in the household of Patriarch Wang. My father was driven out of the Wang household and he changed his surname to Wen after that. We have come back to Tsinkiang but we do not wish people to know that we are in any way connected to the Wangs. You will have to keep this a secret!”

Grasshopper thought for a while before answering, “I will keep this a secret. I understand now why you do not like the Wangs. But are you really, really sure that your father is my uncle?”

“Of course” she replied. “Do you remember that you have half an arrowhead belonging to your mother that had been given to her by her brother? I have the other half. I have matched my half with your half and they matched perfectly! Your mother and my father are sister and brother!”

She took off the piece of metal that she wore around her neck and showed it to Grasshopper. The boy’s eyes opened in surprise.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” he blurted.

“We did not think that it was time for you to know yet,” she said. “But even though you were our servant, we treated you differently from the other servants.”

“So that was why I got my own room, and I sit down at the same table as Master Wen at mealtimes,” Grasshopper said, understanding now. “That was why you taught me kungfu. That was why you had a teacher come to the house every few days to teach me to read and write! All this while, I thought that you were training me up so that I can be sold as a sex slave to some rich lady at a hefty price later!”

Wen Yiji rolled his eyes skywards and Shi Mei laughed.

+ + + + + +

That night, Wen Yiji took a very slow walk in the courtyard. The winter had gotten colder, but it was still mild compared to the winters he used to spend in a cold prison cell in the Imperial Capital up north. He looked back at the happenings of the year and had reason to be satisfied.

"I set out to bring back the bones of my family," he told himself. "I achieved that. In addition, I came back with a wonderful woman as my wife! And now, I have the power of full invisibility!"

Seeing no one around in the dark night, he turned fully visible without a break in his stride. Then he walked to his bedroom. As usual, Xiang Xiang and Grasshopper were there chatting with Shi Mei. They love to spend the evenings chatting together until it was time for Wen Yiji to chase Xiang Xiang and Grasshopper out of the room.

"It is late," said Wen Yiji. "Go to sleep!"

"Yes brother Yiji," said Xiang Xiang.

"Yes, cousin Yiji," said Grasshopper obediently.

The two of them said their goodnights and left.

Wen Yiji got into bed and Shi Mei curled up against him. He held her gently in his arms.

"Husband," she said. "I am glad that I came here!"

"Any particular reason?" he asked.

"Well, the food is good, the house is nice, and I have servants. What more can a girl ask for?"

"Is that all?"

"Of course not! On top of that I have a husband who has the kungfu that rules the night!"

"Ahhh......you appreciate my power of invisibility!"

"I do not mean that kungfu that rules the night! I meant the other kungfu that rules the night!"

"Which other kungfu that rules the night?"

"The kungfu that you use to get me pregnant!"

Wen Yiji was silent for a moment. Then he blurted out, "You mean you are....."

"Yes!" she answered. "I am pregnant!"

"Ohhh.....no wonder you have been feeling nauseous lately!" said Wen Yiji. "This is wonderful! Alright.....from now on you will not take any risks. No carrying of water or anything heavy. Even if you drop a hankerchief, you will not stoop to pick it up! You will call me, and then I will call Grasshopper to call a servant to pick it up for you. You will stay in bed from morning till night......"

"Dear husband!" Shi Mei giggled. "Do not forget that I am a daifu's daughter! I know what and what not to do!"

Wen Yiji kissed her passionately. As she slept, he stayed awake and listened to her breathing. Looking into the dark, he whispered, "At one time, being the only remaining son, I was afraid that the Wen family would end with me. Not anymore. I have survived the darkest of nights! I have gotten up more times than I have fallen!"

Then, laying a gentle hand on her womb, he breathed softly and gratefully, "Indeed, Heaven has been kind to me! The Wen family lives on!"