The Kungfu that Ruled the Night Ch. 1-15

Chapter 1 - A Plot of Royal Dimensions

The man seated alone at the table in the tea house looked every inch a businessman. His clothes were well sewn and looked expensive. The waiters knew that he owned a very successful duck restaurant in town. They were honoured that he was a customer at their tea house. He had been seated at the table for quite some time and was getting impatient.

A waiter approached him for the third time and asked, "Your friends are very late, Master Wen. Are you sure you do not wish to order something to eat first?"

"No," replied Wen Yiji, scowling. "I will wait for my friends."

"The food we have may not be as good as that of your duck restaurant, Master Wen," continued the waiter. "But we do serve some decent fare here."

"Thank you. But I will order only when my friends get here," said Wen Yiji. Qian Dafang was late. Very late. Qian Dafang was the son of Madame Qian, from whom Wen Yiji had bought three houses the previous year. Qian Dafang knew somebody who had land to sell. He had arranged to bring the seller to meet Wen Yiji in this particular tea house.

Two young ladies walked through the door and Wen Yiji's interest perked up.

"Twins!" he muttered in surprise under his breath. "And very pretty too!"

The twin girls sat at a table at the far end of the tea house.

“I wonder whose daughters they are," thought Wen Yiji idly to himself. "Maybe if I ask nicely, I can marry them both. They can sleep one on each side of me. That will be so interesting. If one can give you pleasure, twins will give double the pleasure. That has immense possibilities. Mmmm…….”

An old man walked through the door and the two ladies waved at him.

"Ah.......that must be the father, or maybe grandfather," thought Wen Yiji. "Or perhaps it is their great grandfather. He looks old enough."

One of the ladies called out, "Husband, over here husband!"

The other lady then said, "We have not ordered anything yet, husband. We waited for you!"

The old man walked over to the ladies and said, “Order anything you like, you treasures of my heart.”

Wen Yiji stared in disbelief. “Wives? Wives of an old man who looks like he can die any moment? Shit….this is not happening!” he mumbled to himself. “Where on earth is heaven’s justice? Not on earth, that’s for certain.”

He mulled over the situation and then muttered in disgust, " How can anybody who looks so old and condemned marry two young wives? Bah! Not that I am jealous, but who wants to marry twins anyway? Turn to the left, see one face. Turn to the right, see the same damn face. So boring!"

"Sour grapes!" exclaimed an old woman seated at the next table. "Sour grapes!"

Irritated, Wen Yiji turned around to face the old woman and asked, "You talking to me? Are you talking to me?"

"No," replied the woman. "The waiter told me that the grapes here were sweet, but he brought me grapes that were sour. I have half a mind not to pay for those!" She pointed to a dish of grapes on her table.

Wen Yiji stared hard at the grapes and then decided to mind his own business. He turned back to his tea and continued his wait. However, at the back of his mind, he knew that he was jealous. He was already thirty years old, and the only living scion of the Wen family. In terms of finances, he was well-to-do. He knew that it was time he took a wife.

"This is an undesirable state of affairs," he muttered under his breath. "I should get a matchmaker to source out a girl for me. A nice girl. Someone who is presentable in the living room, capable in the kitchen, and a wildcat in the bedroom."

As an afterthought, he added, "And she should be some kind of contortionist in bed as well. Yes."

+ + + + + +

Wen Xiang Xiang was practicing her swordplay with the butterfly swords when she heard her brother come in.

"Well, how did the meeting go?" she asked.

“Not bad,” replied Wen Yiji gruffly. “Qian Dafang brought the seller to meet me and then we went to inspect the land. It is a good piece of property facing the south east. Mountains behind, lowland in front. Hills to the left and right to lock in the qi. Very well located and has reasonably good fengshui.”

"Where is the property?"

"In the outskirts of town," he replied. "The distance is slightly far, but the price was quite decent, so I bought the place immediately. I intend to rebury the bones of our parents there."

Xiang Xiang nodded. Their parents had died many years ago when a fire swept their family home in the Imperial Capital. Wen Yiji was in prison at that time. When he was finally freed, he discovered that his sister Xiang Xiang was all that remained of his entire family. They had moved south to Tsinkiang and settled down there, and later opened a duck restaurant.

"Our parents are buried in the Imperial Capital," said Xiang Xiang. "If you make the journey there to retrieve their bones, you will be gone for months."

"A sea journey will take one month each way, whereas a land journey by horse and carriage will take three months each way," remarked her brother.

"If you go by sea, and sail back with our parents' bones, the entire return journey will take only slightly more than two months," she noted.

"No," he said. "I cannot travel by sea on the return trip. If the ship sinks in a storm, then our parents' bones will drop to the bottom of the sea. I cannot take that risk. I will have to come back by land. But I will go to the Imperial City by sea to save time. Then on the return journey, I shall travel by land. That way, I should be gone for about four months. Maybe five. I hope you can take care of yourself while I am away."

"Don't worry," she said confidently, "I am quite capable of taking care of myself."

"Show me how far you have progressed in your kungfu."

Picking up a wooden pole, Wen Yiji sparred with his sister. She attacked him swiftly with her twin butterfly swords and he parried her off with the pole. She was extremely fast in her moves and her strokes were much more potent than before. The siblings sparred energetically until a downward stroke of Xiang Xiang's right blade sliced Wen Yiji's wooden pole into two.

"Your Chicken Knife is sharp," he remarked. "Remarkably sharp."

"Of course," she replied. "I keep it sharp constantly."

"That blade must have been fashioned by the gods," he added. "But it has a ridiculous name."

"I like the name," she smiled.

The right blade, which she called the Chicken Knife, was an extraordinary weapon that they had taken from a group of bandits the previous year. Her left sword, however, was just an ordinary blade. Although both swords looked identical, she knew which one was the Chicken Knife and which one was the ordinary blade.

"Your martial skills have improved remarkably with the Celestial Dragon Claw energy in you. I can go off for a few months knowing that you are able to fend for yourself," he told her. "With your left hand possessing the powerful grip of a Celestial Dragon, and your right hand wielding Chicken Knife, you will be more than a match for an ordinary kungfu master."

"Good," she said. "I will kick the butt of anyone who tries to give us trouble in our duck restaurant."

"No," he said sharply. "I do not want you kicking anybody's butt. It will give you a violent reputation. Then I won't be able to marry you off to a reputable family. A girl should act like a girl......placid and demure. Do you understand?"

"Placid and demure?" she asked. "What if I do not like my future husband?"

"Before your marriage, you must be placid and demure," he advised. "But after you are married, you can beat the shit out of him. That is the way how things are done."

"Yes, brother," she replied, not sure if her brother was joking. "Are you also going to marry somebody from a reputable family?"

"That is my business!" he answered.

"I can set up a meeting with a matchmaker if you like. What sort of qualities in a wife are you looking for? Big hips that are good for childbearing? Or someone who can sing? Good looks perhaps?"

"A contortionist," he answered unthinkingly.

"What?" she exclaimed in shock.

"Er....nothing," he muttered in embarrassment. "I will think about my marriage only after our parents' bones are safely translocated here."

"You will need a carriage to move the bones," she remarked.

"I have already ordered a carriage custom made for just the situation. It is my own special design. I am buying a strong horse as well."

"What are your travel plans?"

"I will ride the carriage to Fuzhou to meet up with my friends, the Chin brothers. Then, from Fuzhou, I will board a ship to Tianjin in the north. From there, I will travel overland to the Imperial Capital and dig up our parents bones. Then, I will travel back by land until I reach here. If I start in early summer, I can be home by mid Autumn."

"It will be summer soon."

"I know. When I am gone, you should take great care. Nobody should find out that you have the Celestial Dragon Claw energy. The martial underworld is murky. Do not draw attention to yourself. If you have any problems, wait till I come back to handle them."

“What if someone wants to kill me?”

“Wait for me to come back to kill him.”

“What if it is not possible to wait?”

“In that case, kill him. But dispose of the body quietly.”

"Yes, my brother," said Xiang Xiang dutifully.

+ + + + + +

Up north in the Imperial City, a bed creaked rhythmically under the movement of the moaning couple on it. Thrashing wildly like a pair of fishes on land, the naked couple soon reached the height of their orgasmic throes before sinking into a satiated exhaustion.

"Prince Jin," sighed the woman. "You will be the death of me."

"To die from sexual exhaustion is something I would be willing to die for," remarked the prince. He admired her voluptuous body for a while. "You have a remarkable zest for the sexual arts. My elder brother does not know how to appreciate it."

"Your elder brother is an idiot," said the woman. She was in her early thirties and her skin was still smooth. She looked good and she knew it. "After I bore him a son, he stopped all intimacy with me. He prefers to spend his time dealing with the affairs of the state."

"That is to be expected, Concubine Lin. After all, he is the Emperor."

"A wishy washy emperor," remarked the Emperor's concubine. "He can't decide anything without conferring with his bug-brained ministers."

"If he finds out that you have been in my bed, I am sure that he will decide to have our heads without conferring with anyone."

"Does that scare you?"

"No. I am Prince Jin. I fear no one. Not even the Emperor."

"Let us talk serious business. When are you going to complete the killing of all the other princes so that my son will be the sole heir to the Emperor?"

"The Emperor has seven sons by different concubines and your sixteen year old son is the youngest. I have to kill six other princes so that your son can be the sole heir. This takes time."

"It is taking too long. I have diligently supplied you with details of the movements of the princes. I need this speeded up, Prince Jin."

"Be patient. You know that two of the princes has already been dispatched to hell. There are only four more to exterminate."

"True. The faster they are exterminated, the better."

"The deaths of the princes have to look like they are not connected to each other. The Emperor will suspect a plot if we do not do it right."

"You are overly cautious. I provided you information that the Fifth Prince is coming home from Guangdong. He is not considered an important prince so he will at most have only a few hundred Imperial Guards with him. Have you made plans to see that something happens to him during his journey?"

"Relax. The kill is on the way. I have already contracted some foreign assassins to remove his head."

"Foreign assassins? Are they any good?"

"I hire only the best, Concubine Lin. My assassins are good. Very good. The Fifth Prince should be dead within twenty days. There will be no escape."

"When the Fifth Prince is dead, only three other princes will be left, apart from my son, the Seventh Prince."

"The remaining three princes will be a problem. They do not like to leave the safety of the Imperial Palace," noted Prince Jin.

"Then you will have to arrange for their deaths inside the Imperial Palace. But it will not be easy. You will need an assassin who can go in and out of the Imperial Palace without being detected."

"I know of one such assassin. Many years ago, there was a foreign assassin in the Eastern Islands who could turn invisible at will. Once he received an assassination contract, the target would be as good as dead. They called him the Ghost Ninja. However, one day, he stopped killing, left the Eastern Islands and came to this country to retire. I will try to persuade him to come out of retirement."

"An invisible man! What does he look like?"

"I don't know."

"I mean when he is not being invisible, what does he look like?"

"I don't know. Few people have seen his face."

"Oh......then how are you going to contact him?"

"My sources tell me that the Ghost Ninja passes through the town of Chingnan every summer. Where he heads for, nobody knows. I will have my men wait for him in Chingnan."

"Do they know what he looks like?"

"One of the men has seen him before."

Concubine Lin digested the information silently. Swiftly, she dressed and said, "I have to go back to the palace before people start wondering where I am."

Prince Jin nodded and dozed off to sleep.

+ + + + + +

In the southern city of Guangzhou, Swordsman Liu handed over a sealed letter to the Fifth Prince and said, “This message just came in by a messenger.”

The prince read the letter and looked thoughtful. Finally, he said, “The message came from the Emperor. My fourth brother is dead. He was on a ship sailing from Tianjin to Shanghai. The ship was discovered floating aimlessly. Everybody on board was dead from internal injuries. Yet there were no signs of fighting on board. Maybe they were poisoned.”

“I am sorry to hear that, Highness,” said Swordsman Liu. “To have everybody on board a ship dying from poison is indeed strange.”

“Not only that. Parts of the ship were burnt. That is not the first time I have lost a brother. Last year, the Second Prince died from a hunting accident when his horse plunged over a cliff. My father wishes me to return at once. He thinks there is something odd going on and that all the princes may be in danger.”

“He could be right,” remarked Swordsman Liu. “This could be the work of assassins. I think that someone killed the people on board and then tried to set the ship on fire. The rains could have put out the fire as this is the rainy season. There is something strange going on.”

“You have a very suspicious mind,” remarked the prince.

“I have a good reason,” replied Swordsman Liu. “One of my men thinks that we are being spied on. We will have to make the journey back to the Imperial Capital with great care. Highness, your life could be in danger.”

“How many Imperial Guards do we have?”

“Slightly more than two hundred. I do not know if we should try to sail back. The manner by which the Fourth Prince died on a ship would suggest that the sea may not be very safe.”

“You are right. I am not that keen on sailing myself. Let us go by the overland route instead,” suggested the Fifth Prince.

“Highness, the Emperor has entrusted me with your security. A strange feeling of unease has been bothering me for the past few nights. You may possibly be the target of assassins. May I be so bold as to suggest that you travel back disguised as a foot soldier?”

“Will that prevent me from being attacked?”

“No, but the chances of your survival will be greater if the assassins are unable to pinpoint their target exactly.”

The prince looked thoughtful again. He knew that Swordsman Liu was a very capable man and that the Imperial Guards have a high regard for his ability to get them safely through very difficult situations. The prince would rather travel back comfortably in a sedan chair. However, he chose to place his life in the hands of Swordsman Liu.

“All right,” he said. “I will travel back to the Imperial Capital in disguise.”

“We will leave in secret without the Governor knowing,” declared Swordsman Liu. “It is best to trust no one. With luck, we will be in Fujian before anyone knows that we are gone.”

“We are staying in the premises of the Governor of Guangzhou,” noted the prince. “How will it be possible to prevent him from knowing?”

“Leave it to me,” answered Swordsman Liu confidently.

The next morning, Swordsman Liu informed the Governor of Guangzhou that the prince would go into deep meditation in his room for a few days and would not like to be disturbed. Then he sent teams of men out of the city in various directions at different times. Each team was small; at most fifteen men. To the casual passerby, it did not suggest any unusual troop movement. The teams met at an appointed spot in the outskirts of the city and then journeyed north from there. A small number of men were left behind to keep up with the pretence that the prince was still meditating in his room.

Three days later, a group of four men met in a room in a little inn to discuss the situation.

“I think our quarry has disappeared,” said one of the men. “Right from under our noses. Most of the Imperial Guards have gone. Our spy in the Governor’s kitchen said that the prince was supposed to be meditating but then they discovered that he had actually disappeared. ”

“Baka yaro,” cursed another man. “How could we be so careless? Now, we do not even know if they had gone north, south, east or west.”

“All is not lost,” a third man interjected. “The prince will not be travelling alone. A large group of men will leave a large trail. We should be able to pick up their trail within a few days. It is better this way. It would have been difficult to attack the prince in the Governor’s premises, with all the hidden rooms for people to hide. Out in the open, the prince would be a much more open target.”

“But they already have a head start of a few days.”

“So? We should be able to run faster than they can walk. Once we get on their trail, we will be able to catch up within ten days.”

The rest of the men nodded agreement. They would make mincemeat out of the Imperial Guards once they caught up with their quarry.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji took one final look at his house. His things were already neatly packed inside the carriage. The horse was already hitched to the carriage, ready to move.

“I’ll see you in autumn, Xiang Xiang,” he said.

“Goodbye, brother,” she said, trying hard not to cry.

“Goodbye, master,” piped up Grasshopper, the servant boy.

“Goodbye, Grasshopper,” said Wen Yiji. “And stay out of trouble.”

“Yes, master,” the boy replied in a subdued tone.

Wen Yiji climbed on board the carriage and tapped the back of the horse with a long slender rod. The horse moved forward. He would go north to Fuzhou first to meet up with his friends, the Chin brothers.

“Fuzhou, here I come,” he mumbled to himself.

He thought of the Chin brothers whom he had not seen for half a year. He smiled in anticipation.

Then he thought of the House of a Thousand Pleasures in Fuzhou and the Ai Ga Lop song. His smiled turned into a broad grin.

Chapter 2: The Kansai Killers

The three men huddled in the middle of the track and waited for the fourth man who was up a tree on a nearby hill. The man on the tree soon climbed down to confer with the rest of the men.

All of them were dressed as local traders to hide the fact that they were foreigners. At a glance, it would not be possible to tell that they were actually professional assassins who hired themselves out to anyone who could pay their stiff price.

There was Kaninaya, a ninja given to swearing and cussing during battle. He was born with a foul mouth and would send every victim of his fiery sword to hell with an appropriate curse.

There was Arahkiri, a left-hander. He was once in a restaurant eating rice and using chopsticks with his left hand. It was a cultural indiscretion, but he could not care less. A group of samurai at the next table laughed at him. Within the next few moments, the group of samurai lay dead, victims of Arahkiri’s lightning-fast sword. He then continued eating his rice, using chopsticks with his left hand. Nobody laughed at him after that.

Squatting next to Arahkiri was Kotekichi. Kotekichi had an embarrassing physical deformity. He compensated for this particular shortcoming by becoming very good with his sword. There was an occasion in a whorehouse when a drunken insensitive whore had laughed at the size of his manhood. In a fit of anger, he tied her up with ropes and strung her from the ceiling for two days. That started a whole new sexual sado-masochist perversion involving ropes.

The leader of the gang was a burly man called Bunuhsuma. He was a one-man army and completely merciless. Once he started killing, he would find it difficult to stop. A target of his once went into a wine shop. Bunuhsuma followed and walked into the shop. By the time he came out, his target was dead. So also were the proprietor, the workers and the other customers in the shop. A group of ten samurais were on the verge of entering the shop just as he was walking out. They died under a hail of killing strokes from his sharp sword. Each time he was contracted to kill a man, he often ended up killing twenty men. Sometimes forty. For this reason, in the shadowy world of the assassins, he was also known as Bunuhsuma the Savage.

Together, the four men were called the Kanasai Killers. They had never failed in any of their assassination assignments.

“Well?” asked Bunuhsuma.

"They are only up ahead, at a distance of about two li in front," reported Kotekichi, who was the man who had climbed the tree.

"Did you see the prince, Kotekichi-san?"

"No, Bunuhsuma-san. There was no palanquin or even anybody on horseback."

"That means that the prince is travelling in disguise. How many men do you estimate are there?"

"There are about two hundred of them, Bunuhsuma. How will we know which one is the prince?"

"Since there are only two hundred of them, we will just kill everybody," replied the man they called Bunuhsuma. "There are four of us, so each one of us will kill fifty. That should not take long."

"Fifty each sounds reasonable," said Arahkiri. "We are the Kansai Killers, the top ninjas of our trade. That should not be too difficult."

"But Arahkiri-san, these men are Imperial Guards," remarked Kotekichi, who was the most cautious of the group.

"That's right," said Bunuhsuma, their most formidable killer. "We will surprise them during the early dawn and kill one third of them before they realised that they are being attacked. Now go to sleep."

+ + + + + +

The attack at dawn did not go off as planned. Swordsman Liu had taken the precaution of installing perimeter booby traps and warning systems the night before. Even so, the first wave of attack by the Kansai Killers left twenty Imperial Guards dead. Swordsman Liu and his men mounted a credible defence but slowly and surely, the Kansai Killers whittled down the numbers.

"Ninjas!" shouted Swordsman Liu. "I know their fighting style. These are ninjas!"

"What on earth are ninjas?" asked one of his men.

"Assassins from the Eastern Islands," answered a man with a bushy beard.

"They are incredibly fast!" swore Swordsman Liu under his breath, "Squirrel Beard, there is a sugar cane field nearby. Get the prince there fast!"

The man called Squirrel Beard hastily led the prince away as Swordsman Liu and his men battled on.

The blade of a ninja took off the head of an Imperial Guard who was fairer than the rest. Swordsman Liu gasped and shouted, "Prince, oh Prince! Oh heavens, the Prince is dead!"

The ninjas stopped in their tracks as Swordsman Liu approached the fair decapitated man and knelt down. "Forgive me, Prince, for failing to protect you!" he cried.

Most of the other men also knelt down and asked for forgiveness.

"We have killed their prince!" shouted the ninja Kotekichi in satisfaction.

"Keep on fighting!" ordered Bunuhsuma. "No sense in leaving these guards around alive."

"Save yourselves," shouted Swordsman Liu. "The Prince is dead! There is nothing you can do! Run!"

The Imperial Guards fled from the battlefield in all directions. The ninjas killed those who were wounded and unable to run.

"Look at them flee!" noted Arahkiri. "They have no inclination to fight once their Prince is dead."

"We shall take back the head as proof that we have killed the prince," remarked Bunuhsuma.

Kotekichi started taking off the clothes of the Prince.

"What are you doing, Kotekichi-san?" asked one of the ninjas. "Why are you stripping the prince?"

"I intend to drink his blood," came the reply. "They say that if you drink the blood of the royal family, your size will increase. I think I will take the blood next to his heart."

“That is nonsense!” thundered Kaninaya. “If you want your size to increase, you have to consume tiger organs!”

“Look,” insisted Kotekichi. “Let me do what I want, okay? I am not asking you to drink if you don’t wish to.”

The other ninjas looked at Kotekichi in distaste, but they made no move to stop him.

The decapitated man was strip half naked and Kotekichi got ready to make a cut on the flesh near the heart.

"What is that?" asked Bunuhsuma pointing to something on the dead man's chest.

"That is a tattoo," answered one of the ninjas.

"That is strange," noted Bunuhsuma. "I was not aware that princes have tattoos."

"It looks like a picture of a naked woman," commented Kotekichi. “A very well endowed naked woman.”

The four of them examined the tattoo and then Kaninaya commented, "Son of a diseased dog. The workmanship is terrible. The woman's right one is bigger than the left one."

"They are lopsided too," commented Arahkira. "One is higher than the other."

They stared at the tattoo for a bit longer.

Finally, Kotekichi said, "This tattoo is an amateurish effort. Surely a prince would be able to affort a much better tattoo artist."

"Wait a moment," said Bunuhsuma. "Something does not smell right to me."

"You are right," said Arahkiri. "If this is really the prince, then he should be able to afford a better tattoo!"

"Not only that......I cannot imagine that a prince would go out to have a naked woman tattooed on his skin!" exclaimed Bunuhsuma. “This cannot be the prince! We have been tricked!"

They stared at the surrounding trees and sugar cane fields.

"The prince must still be alive! After them!" commanded Bunuhsuma. "Which way did they go?"

The men looked blankly at each other.

Finally, Kotekichi said, "I am not sure. They were running in all directions."

"In that case, we'll search the whole area for them!" declared Bunuhsuma grimly.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji was in a foul mood. The straightforward coastal way that he had been taking was flooded in some parts because of the rain from the previous few days. A local farmer advised him to take a detour, which he did. After traveling for some time, the detour turned out to be flooded as well. He took another detour, and then another, and then another.

“I don’t know how many detours I have taken, but at least this road is not flooded,” he muttered to himself. The track road appeared to be heading towards the hinterland. He looked around him. All he could see were sugar cane plants.

“So many sugar cane plants,” he complained. “Why do the Fujian people plant sugar cane as if their lives depend on them?”

He found that if he stood up on the roof of the carriage, he could see above the tops of the sugar cane plants. Perhaps he could navigate his way out of the sugar cane fields and get back on to the right road to Fuzhou. The horse plodded on steadily at a walking pace, pulling the carriage behind it uncomplainingly.

Suddenly, Yiji saw some of the sugar cane plants moving. He was instantly on the alert. The worst thing he wanted was to be ambushed by bandits in this spot. The horse turned a bend in the road and a bearded stranger stepped onto the middle of the road. He wielded a large broadsword menacingly. Wen Yiji reined in his horse.

“Well, I‘ll be damned,” cursed Wen Yiji. “A lone bandit trying to rob me here!”

The bearded stranger looked up and down the road, as if looking for something. Then he turned his attention to Wen Yiji and said, “Listen, I want you to do exactly as I say.”

“You listen,” retorted Wen Yiji. “If you don’t get out of the way, my horse will knock you over.”

“Perhaps, I did not make myself clear,” the bearded man said. “I want you to follow my exact instructions.”

“The wheels of the carriage will run over your toes and you will not be able to walk for a month.

“I hope your horse is strong because I want you to speed away like ten devils were after you.”

“I will travel at my own leisurely pace because I like to take time to smell the flowers.”

“You will speed away as fast as possible from here because if you don’t, I and my compatriots will rob you.”

“Threats. Empty threats. I don’t scare easily.”

“After that, we will gangrape you.”

“Shit! A gay bandit!”

“Yes, after we are done with you, you will not be able to forget the excruciating experience. Now get out of here. Fast!”

“If you want to rob and rape me, why do you bother to stop and warn me?”

“That is my secret!”

“Tell me about it!”

“If I tell you about it, it won’t be a secret!”

“Will you tell me what this is all about, Imperial Guard Squirrel Beard?”

“Wha……what? You know me?” asked the astonished bearded man. “Who are you?”

“Former Imperial Guard, Wen Yiji.”

There was a pause. Then Squirrel Beard spoke excitedly, “Yes! I recognize you now, Master Wen. I thought you looked familiar! I was not aware that you were out of prison!”

“I was freed last year. How have you been?”

“So, so, lah, Master Wen. How about you?”

“No holes no tears. I did not realize that you have become a gay bandit. Have you given up entirely on women?”

“Oh…..no, no, no, no, no!”

“Now you are in denial!”

“It’s not that! I am not a gay bandit! I was trying to get you to speed away from here!”

“Why?”

“We are in a desperate situation! I am part of the team of two hundred men assigned to escort the Fifth Prince back to the Imperial City. This morning, we were attacked by foreign ninja assassins who killed half of our men. We retreated into this large field of sugar cane. We are now trying to find a way to get the prince to safety. If we stay here longer, it will be a matter of time before the ninjas locate us!”

“Ninjas,” said Wen Yiji. “Yes, I have heard of them although I have never actually seen one. I remember that at the Imperial Court, a visiting samurai from the Eastern Islands told us about the ninjas’ reputation for assassination. But this is not their country. What are they doing here?”

“I do not know,” said Squirrel Beard, looking around him in a state of heightened caution.

“Why did you stop me?” asked Wen Yiji.

“I am sorry, Master Wen. We heard your carriage coming so we thought that if we stopped you and then get you to race out of here, the ninjas may think that we stopped you in order to carry away the prince to safety. They should be able to hear the sound of your horse. We hoped that they will chase you instead and thus give us an opportunity to slip away.”

“That is a good tactic. Do you know how many ninjas there are?”

“Three or four.”

“Is it three or is it four?

“I am not sure.”

“And they killed half of your men?”

“Yes. They are formidable fighters. They can run through our midst and leave dead bodies in their wake. Their blades are so sharp that they sliced through the wooden shafts of our spears! Easily! I have never seen fighters like that. We had no defense and thus had to hide out among the sugar cane.”

“Where is the prince?”

“Hiding in the cane field together with the rest of our men. We managed to group together after fleeing from the assassins. The ninjas could be close by, looking for us as we speak. We are wasting time. I am sure the ninjas are aware that your horse has stopped here and they are probably coming now to investigate! Oh damn.....we will have to move the prince urgently to somewhere else immediately!”

“Do you still wish me to race out of here to draw the assassin’s attention?”

“Yes. But they are very fast and you may not be able to outrun them. Even though you may not be connected with our mission, they may still kill you. It may be safer for you to just leave your horse and carriage and hide among the sugar canes. I have to hurry! If you don’t get yourself killed and if we meet again, let me buy you three catties of wine. Goodbye, my friend!”

With that, Squirrel Beard ran back and disappeared into the sugar can field.

Wen Yiji could not care less if the ninjas wanted to assassinate a hundred princes. But many years ago, he was also an Imperial Guard. He was part of the team that went on a mission to guard a valuable consignment belonging to the Emperor when they were attacked. The consignment was seized by the attackers before fleeing. The head of his unit, Chief Feng died after the attack. Those that survived went back to the Imperial City report the loss and they were promptly imprisoned at the notorious Li Khor prison for not performing their duty. During the first year that he was in prison, about fifty Imperial Guards had visited him to make sure that he was not mistreated by the sadistic prison warden. And Squirrel Beard was among those who had visited him. For that, Wen Yiji was grateful. Thus, he felt that he owed Squirrel Beard a favour at least.

He came to a quick decision. Hastily, he whipped the rump of the horse and it leapt forward and broke into a run.

“Move your ass, you dumb animal!” he muttered as he tied his quiver of arrows to his waist in preparation for battle. There was a sabre somewhere at the back of the carriage but he had no time to look for it. However, he had a stout wooden club by his side that he often used to wedge the wheels of the carriage on a slope. It would do as a weapon for the moment. He breathed in a measured manner and felt his inner energy rising. With the Dark Fire Inner Energy within him, he should have no need for weapons.

Squirrel Beard was headed towards Swordsman Liu when he heard Wen Yiji racing his carriage down the track. "I hope he manages to outrun the ninjas," he prayed. He then met up with Swordsman Liu who was protecting the Fifth Prince in the cane fields. They, too, had heard the carriage moving rapidly away.

“It looks like you managed to persuade the carriage driver to race out of here,” the Prince commented. "How did you do it?"

"Er.....I told him that if he did not get out of here fast, we will rob and rape him," replied Squirrel Beard.

The Prince laughed and said, "Well, I hope he manages to escape the ninjas!"

“If they catch up with him, he’ll be dead,” said Squirrel Beard glumly. He knew that Wen Yiji was racing down the road as a favour to the Imperial Guards. He wondered if he had endangered Wen Yiji’s life. However, the fate of the prince outweighs all other considerations. He thought it wiser not to let anyone know that he knew the carriage driver. That could lead to other questions that he did not feel like answering.

“I can see the tops of the sugar cane plants moving,” reported one of the men who had been standing atop the shoulders of another man. “I think the ninjas are going after the carriage!”

“Good,” said Swordsman Liu. “We will move in a different direction. Move slowly so that the sugar cane plants do not move to give away our position!”

Wen Yiji's horse was strong and it galloped down the track as fast as it could. It raced along the route at top speed and took the turns without slowing down, so much so that Wen Yiji became convinced that the horse was suicidal.

“Hoi!” he shouted. “Do you think you are on a suicide mission? Be careful! Don’t you dare overturn my carriage!”

The horse came to a small bridge and raced over it without missing a beat.

“How on earth did you do that?” asked a perplexed Wen Yiji. “I could have sworn that the width of that bridge was smaller than the width of this carriage!”

As the carriage sped along, Wen Yiji wondered if the ninja assassins had taken the bait. He got up to the top of the carriage, and while carefully balancing himself, he looked around him. He was high enough to see the tops of the sugar cane plants. Then he noticed the rustling movement of the tops of the sugar cane. Two separate blobs of sugar cane movement flowed towards him on the left and there was some cane movements approaching fast from the right. He knew that he was being pursued by three unknown persons. The ruse had worked and the chase had begun.

The horse was enthusiastic about running, not caring if the carriage overturned or not. It galloped madly as if a swarm of wasps were after it. Wen Yiji took his seat at the front of the carriage and attempted to exert some measure of control over the horse with the reins.

Suddenly, on his right, a ninja emerged from the cane fields and leaped through the air towards the carriage. It was Arahkiri the lefthanded ninja. He gripped a samurai sword in a two-handed grip and slashed at Wen Yiji with a powerful stroke. Wen Yiji saw him just in time and held up his rough wooden club to ward off the stroke. The sharp blade sliced through the club and continued its journey to take off the head of its intended victim. Wen Yiji ducked under the stroke as the blade flashed over his head and landed on the wooden portion of the carriage. It was obvious that the ninja intended to kill him first and ask questions afterwards.

The momentum of the sword brought the ninja’s body close enough to Wen Yiji who saw a tiny window of opportunity. He delivered a Dark Fire Iron Palm strike with his left palm to the ninja’s chest. The immense power of the impact threw the ninja away from the carriage and his head collided against the branch of a nearby tree, breaking the neck in the process. The body dropped down under the tree and Wen Yiji knew that the ninja was dead even before the body had hit the ground.

“Careless……very, very careless,” whispered Wen Yiji in the direction of the fallen ninja. “You must have thought that I was just a carriage driver. I bet you didn't know that I had that kind of raw power, did you? Fatal mistake!”

Aloud he cried, “Hang on, prince! The assassins are coming! But we can outrun them! We are almost out of the cane fields!”

Quickly he picked up his bow and fitted an arrow to it in preparation for the next attack that he expected would come from his left. He was correct.

A second ninja burst from the cane fields close to the carriage and leapt into the air with the intention of landing on top of the moving carriage. Wen Yiji released the arrow at close range. The ninja, who was Kaninaya, flashed his sword and deflected the arrow away in mid-air. Wen Yiji shot out his hand and delivered a palm blast which rocked the body of the surprised ninja causing him to fall onto the ground. As the ninja touched the earth, he sensed another arrow heading in his direction and clumsily, he tried to roll out of the way. The second arrow from Wen Yiji caught the ninja in the side of the ribcage. It wasn’t a fatal shot and Kaninaya knew that he could force the arrow out without much harm to himself if he was careful enough.

From the carriage, Wen Yiji released a third arrow. Kaninaya jerked his body sideways and avoided the shot successfully. However, the violent jerky movement caused the arrow in his ribcage to shift painfully and the ninja muttered an oath of agony.

“This ninja is fast,” noted Wen Yiji as he load his bow for the fourth time. He wondered where the third ninja was.

Swish swish swish swish swish!

Five shuriken ninja stars hurtled in the air towards Wen Yiji who leapt up high into the air to avoid them. Wen Yiji did not know much about the shuriken, but he knew enough to understand that their purpose was to cause either nuisance or distraction rather than to do any major killing. He could not see who had hurled the projectiles at him but he guessed that it would be the third ninja. One thing he was certain; the third ninja would chase after the carriage to look for the elusive prince.

Just before Wen Yiji landed on the ground, he saw the third ninja running after the carriage. Wen Yiji was about to shoot the man but he changed his mind. He was convinced that the ninja would be able to avoid the shot. Instead, he ran back towards the second ninja and then leapt up high into the air.

The wounded Kaninaya had stumbled towards some sugar cane plants and was trying to get the arrow out of his ribs. He was cussing madly and did not notice Wen Yiji sailing overhead. However, even injured as he was, he somehow sensed that Wen Yiji was nearby and he swiftly looked around in apprehension, swearing angrily at the same time. The next moment, an arrow came down from the heavens and pierced him through the top of the head until it reached all the way down to the throat. Kaninaya died instantly. The last thing he heard was the sound of his own cussing.

“Two down. One more to go!” muttered Wen Yiji.

The carriage had already moved out of the field of sugar cane into open land. The third ninja, Bunuhsuma, was on the moving carriage and he flipped open the cloth screen at the front of the carriage expecting to see the prince he was hired to assassinate. Instead, he found nothing except some sacks of at the back of the carriage. Quickly, he reined in the horse and then went into the carriage to poke the sacks with his sword. However, there was no sign of the prince hiding inside the sacks. The sacks contained only provisions for Wen Yiji’s journey. Realizing that he had been tricked, the ninja leapt out of the carriage to be met by three arrows fired by Wen Yiji. The agile assassin evaded two arrows and blocked the third arrow with his sword.

Wen Yiji was amazed by the incredible speed of the ninja. He was up against a formidable opponent and he knew it.

“Thank you for stopping my horse for me,” he said politely.

“Where is the prince?” demanded the ninja.

“I hid him somewhere safe,” replied Wen Yiji.

“Tell me where he is and I will spare you your life!”

“Tell me why I should be afraid of you! Who are you people?”

“We are the Kansai Killers.”

“I have heard of a lot of assassins in the martial underworld, but I have never heard of the Kanasai Killers.”

“It’s Kansai, not Kanasai.”

“Same thing. Both also ‘sai’. Shit will be shit.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. Do not waste my time. Take me to the prince.”

“I don't feel like it. There is something morally wrong about foreign assassins coming here to kill our princes. It is simply not right. I am sure that there is plenty of local expertise for that sort of thing.”

“You people can’t even kill your own people,” sneered Bunuhsuma. “You have to depend on foreign talent.”

“It is disgusting, I know. Local people are not willing to do dirty work nowadays. We have to depend on cheap foreigners."

"I am not a cheap foreigner."

"I bet you accepted just two taels of silver for this job."

"It's four thousand and two hundred taels."

"I don't believe it. You cannot be worth that much."

"Better believe it."

"Shit! I have absolutely no idea that killing pays so well. And to think that all these time, I have been killing people for free! What is even more disgusting is that the foreign assassins that they hire are so damn ugly. It’s like they have monkey asses for faces.”

“You have a big mouth and I am not ugly.”

“No, of course not. By the way, you will have to look for another face. The monkey may want his ass back.”

“You will wish that you had been more polite to me in a moment. I will kill you slowly, savouring each cry of agony from your lips begging in terror for my mercy.”

“What makes you think that you can defeat me? I think you are only a ninja. You are not even a samurai.”

“Only a ninja? Do not mock what you do not understand! From where I come from, we ninjas are masters when it comes to effective fighting.”

“I too, know something about effective fighting. In fact, I am currently writing a book about it for you people. I shall title it ‘Effective Fighting for Ninja Dummies’. Every ninja should go out and purchase a copy. While stocks last.”

The ninja stared at him open-mouthed, not knowing whether to believe those words or not. Then he said, "Purchase a copy? We'll do not such thing!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that you ninjas don't believe in purchasing. For your case I ought to say that every ninja should go out and quietly steal a copy. While stocks last.”

The magnitude of Wen Yiji's insult sank in and the Bunuhsuma snarled, “Stupid carriage driver, you think you are funny? You will die for your stupidity!”

“Hey…..monkey-ass-for-face…..go back to your shitty little village,” retorted Wen Yij impudently. “Your goats desperately need you for their nightly entertainment. And give back the monkey his ass!”

Bunuhsuma cursed angrily and rushed at Wen Yiji with his raised samurai sword. Wen Yiji hurriedly sprang out of the way. The ninja leapt after him but Wen Yiji sent an arrow in his direction. The ninja avoided the arrow with quick bodily movements and continued pursuing Wen Yiji who threw a palm blast at his pursuer. That had no effect as the ninja sidestepped the blast neatly. Two more arrows from Wen Yiji failed to find their mark.

“He is unbelievably fast! I bet his sword is sharp as well!” thought Wen Yiji furiously. “Oh, shit of a dog! I don’t think I can fight his sword with bare hands and sooner or later I will run out of arrows! Better think of something fast before he kills me!"

A slashing stroke from the samurai sword just missed Wen Yiji but took off some strands of hair from his head. In avoiding the sword, Wen Yiji stumbled and fell. Reaching out behind him in the crouching position and unnoticed by the ninja, he grabbed a handful of sand from the ground. As the ninja approached to slash him with the sword, Wen Yiji flung the sand at his attacker using his Dark Fire Inner Energy. The sand particles flew out in a spreading pattern like an expanding sand blast.

For the ninja, there was no avoiding the flying sand particles. He raised his hand to protect his eyes even as he leapt sideways instinctively to shift his position. The sand particles hit the back of his hand that was shielding the eyes and he felt the particles biting deep into his skin. It was stingingly painful. Wen Yiji took the opportunity to leap after the ninja while swiftly pulling out another arrow from his quiver. He had a slight opening, but there was no time to load the bow. Hurriedly, he threw the arrow just before Bunuhsuma could recover himself.

Even as the ninja twisted his body away by instinct, the thrown arrow pierced into his left knee, drawing a gasp of surprise from him. Wen Yiji feigned a palm blast and the ninja jerked sideways to the right to avoid the blast that never came. The jerk cause the arrowhead in the knee to tear the flesh, resulting in blood oozing out from the wound.

“I see that you are bleeding. I am sure you will not be quite so fast with an arrow in your leg,” noted Wen Yiji.

“It is only a flesh wound,” remarked the ninja. “It will not kill me. You are like a little boy......throwing sand and throwing arrows.”

“This is known as "effective fighting". It worked, didn't it?” retorted Wen Yiji. “You were a shade faster than me before. Now with the flesh wound in your leg, I will be a shade faster than you. A shade faster may not appear to be much, but on a flat land, the ground that is one inch higher than the rest is considered the mountain.”

“Do not flatter yourself. You are no mountain. I can still kill you easily with my sword.”

“Is that right? As long as your knee is injured, I have the tactical advantage. Now eat this!”

Wen Yiji shot an arrow from his bow. The ninja deflected it away smartly with his sword and leapt after Wen Yiji while flashing his blade dangerously. Stroke after stroke of the samurai sword flashed through empty air as Wen Yiji moved rapidly to avoid being cut to peices.

“Amazing!” thought Wen Yiji. “His hands are still as fast even though his legs are now slightly slower than before. As long as I manage to stay out of reach, he will not be able to get me with his sword. He may have the speed to deflect one arrow, but can he now deflect three of them at once?”

The ninja slowed down. The wound on his knee was bleeding more now. Every sharp movement aggravated the wound. He knew that he would have to push the barbed arrow out. He grasped hold of the arrow with his hand in readiness to break off the shaft. However, Wen Yiji, who had already fitted three arrows to his bow, called out to him, “Hey….monkey-ass-for-face…...ready for more arrows? Now, eat this!”

Wen Yiji released the arrows. He was only six steps from Bunuhsuma.

The ninja did not try to move out of the way, but instead, in an impressive display of agility and swordplay, he deflected all three arrows away from him with one well-controlled swing of his sword. The next moment, however, he felt a sharp pain in his groin as Wen Yiji had delivered a powerful palm blast to his balls.

The ninja half crouched in agony and clutched his balls with one hand as Wen Yiji reminded him, "Didn't I just say that I am a shade faster than you now?"

Despite the excruciating pain, the ninja swung the sword at Wen Yiji who quickly got out of the way. This time, the ninja's stroke was weaker. Wen Yiji sensed victory at hand and he shot an arrow at the ninja followed by a palm blast. The ninja avoided the arrow but caught the palm blast in the balls again.

"I can't believe that you fell for the same tactic twice!" said Wen Yiji to the ninja who was on the ground clutching his balls in agony. "Maybe you are one of those who believe that lightning does not strike twice in the same place!"

There was no time for Bunuhsuma to recover as Wen Yiji fired yet another arrow at him. He rolled away just in time and tried to get up, only to find one more arrow coming out of nowhere to pierce him in the right ankle.

With both legs injured and a painful groin, the ninja knew that he would have to flee to fight another day. If he could get back to the cane fields, he would be able to hide from the formidable archer, but he knew that he would be shot before he got to safety.

Wen Yiji had loaded one more arrow to his bow. He took aim. The ninja dropped a small ball onto the ground. There was a flash and a cloud of smoke enveloped the air causing the ninja to disappear from sight. Five shuriken flew out towards Wen Yiji from the smoke.

Wen Yiji leapt up very high with his lightness kungfu. Years ago, he had heard stories from his former cellmate, Amos, who had been to the Eastern Islands. Amos seemed to enjoy telling him about the ninjas’ tricks of escaping by using smoke bombs. Well, no ninja was going to distract him with smoke and fire. And no ninja was going to escape from him.

High up in the air, he looked down and spotted the ninja among the clouds of smoke, running on his hands and heading into the sugar cane field. On his hands! It was a faster way to travel then limping slowly on his legs.

The Kansai Killer did not make it to safety. An arrow came down from the sky and pierced him in the abdomen before protruding out of his upper back.

“Sono kuso yaro(translation: "That fucking prick") …….” the ninja breathed as he dropped down in agony, pretending to be lifeless, but clutching three shuriken hidden in the palm of his hand. Then he waited for Wen Yiji to approach. If he timed it just right, he would be able to throw the three projectiles into the throat of the bowman.

Wen Yiji alighted onto the ground and walked casually towards where the ninja was. He stopped ten steps away from the fallen assassin, drew his bow and asked, "Hey, are you still alive?"

No answer. Bunuhsuma carried on pretending to be dead. He was beyond hope and he knew it. He just needed one opportunity to strike. He would kill the archer with his dying effort. Yes, he would make one last kill before he took the road to hell.

Wen Yiji took one step forward and said, "Oh heck, perhaps you are dying. This just isn't right. We are both professionals. You charge an obscene amount of money for killing people. And here I am, killing you for free. Don't you think something is very wrong here?"

Again, no answer.

"Come forward two more steps, just two more steps," thought Bunuhsuma furiously, getting ready to throw his shuriken.

Wen Yiji took another step forward and sighed, "You must be dead already. I'm sorry I called you monkey-ass-for-face. It is not a big sin to be ugly. However, it is a very big sin to show your ugly face around to the public. But I forgive you."

As the ninja who was waiting for Wen Yiji to take one more step, a huge fly landed on his head.

"An ugly fly on an ugly head is not a pretty thing to see," said Wen Yiji aloud. "Hmmmm.......I bet I can hit that fly from here,"

He drew back his bow, took careful aim and then shot the arrow.

Thud!

"Damn, I missed!" he exclaimed. "I must be more tired than I thought!"

The arrow flew through the air, missed the fly and sped its way into the ninja’s skull, dividing the brain cells within into two untidy gooey masses.

At that very moment, Bunuhsuma the Savage stopped all pretense of being dead. He was well and truly dead.

Chapter 3: A hint of betrayal

Kotekichi was the last of the Kansai Killers to arrive at the scene. Running silently along the dirt track, he spied the body of the fallen Arahkiri under a tree. He rushed to the body and discovered to his horror that Arahkiri had already perished from a broken neck. His ears picked up faint sounds in the distance that alerted him to the fact that there was fighting up ahead.

Ignoring Arahkiri’s body, he raced down the track. Suddenly, he stopped and turned back. He had seen something familiar among the sugar cane plants by the track. Upon closer investigation, he discovered the crumpled body of Kaninaya.

“We have a formidable adversary here,” he muttered in shock, scarcely able to believe his eyes. As he was examining the arrow that went through the head of the dead Kaninaya, a thought struck him, “Bunuhsuma! He must be up ahead!”

Again he ran down the track but he slowed down when he saw that the cane field was coming to an end. He hid among the plants and cautiously moved forward. He was just in time to see Bunuhsuma lying on the ground with an arrow through his abdomen.

"But Bunuhsuma cannot be defeated!" Kotekichi told himself. "This cannot be happening to the Kansai Killers!"

From his angle of view, he could see that Bunuhsuma was still alive, but barely, and was clutching three shuriken in his hand. He debated whether to go to Bunuhsuma’s aid but reason told him that whatever could defeat the most powerful Kansai Killer, Bunuhsuma the Savage, then he, Kotekichi, would also be defeated. Thus, he looked on helplessly as Wen Yiji approached the body of Bunuhsuma. He could only watch silently from his hiding place among the sugar cane plants as Wen Yiji put an arrow into the head of Bunuhsuma.

Wen Yiji was suddenly aware that there was someone else in the sugar cane field. He stared in the direction of Kotekichi but did not see anybody. “Come out!” he invited. “Do not think that I do not know that you are there!”

Kotekichi kept silent.

“If you do not come out, then I will come and drag your dead body out!” threatened Wen Yiji. Then he walked purposefully towards the field of sugar cane. Kotekichi quietly moved away to another hiding spot. He was a ninja. He could blend in with his surroundings. He moved deeper and deeper into the mass of sugar cane plants and kept himself hidden from view. Wen Yiji leapt high over the rows of sugar cane but could not spot anybody through the foliage. For a long time, Kotekichi remained hidden.

Finally, Wen Yiji gave up searching for the unknown person. He thought that perhaps there was no one there and that he had been mistaken. The happenings of the morning had left him thoroughly mystified. Why would anybody wish to hire foreign assassins to kill a prince? However, he was smart enough to know that it would not be wise to get mixed up with the affairs of the members of royal family. Most of the princes were worthless scum, always hankering after somebody’s daughter. Killing a prince or two wasn’t such a bad idea, he thought. Still, it was not his business and he did not want to have his name linked to the happenings of the royal family. It would be best that nobody knew that he had helped to save the prince.

He gathered the bodies of the three dead ninjas together and searched them. He collected three long swords and three medium length swords. Apart from the swords, there were smoke bomb explosives, shuriken and an assortment of interesting articles. He bundled them up and placed them in his carriage. Then he dumped the bodies in the midst of the sugar cane plants. With that done, he continued along his journey

Kotekichi breathed easier when he heard the sound of the Wen Yiji’s carriage departing. For some reason, he was afraid of the unknown archer. Then he thought about what to do next. After a while, he decided that he would have to inform Grandmaster Hattori about what had happened. Sheathing his weapon, he walked in the opposite direction to that of Wen Yiji.

+ + + + + +

By mid afternoon, Wen Yiji had reached a heavily forested area. He stopped the carriage and examined the bundle of things that he had taken from the three dead ninjas. There were three longswords that required a two-handed grip to use. There were another three shorter swords that were about two third the lengths of the longer swords.

Picking up a longsword, he tried out a two-handed grip on it. A long time ago, he had undergone a short training in heavy swords that required a two-handed grip. He could only remember how to perform six strokes, but he tried them out nevertheless. Then he remembered how he had seen the ninjas use their blades in the morning and he tried those moves out as well.

“I don’t think I am that smooth with this sword, but I am getting the hang of it,” he mumbled to himself. After a while, he tried out a few combinations of strokes before he got bored.

“Let’s see how strong the foreigner’s sword is,” he remarked.

He held the longsword out horizontally in front of him. Then concentrating his Dark Fire Internal Energy into one finger, he tapped the side of the sword. The sword bent slightly but did not shatter in pieces.

“These ninjas certainly know where to get their swords,” he commented. “They are well crafted, have a hard edge and do not shatter. I think I shall keep them.”

He took a few swings with the bent sword and came to a quick conclusion, “Once a sword is bent, its balance is gone and it is not that easy to control. That is perhaps its weakness.”

He bent the longsword back into shape and took a few practice swings, “Yup, the sword has certainly undergone deformation. It does not feel as smooth as before.”

He next examined the shuriken and practised throwing them against a tree for a while. He gave up when he realized that he was not very good at throwing them.

Finally, he took out the bundle of smoke bomb explosives. There were yellow ones as well as red ones.

“I wonder how these things work,” he thought to himself. “It’s time to do some research.”

His research consisted of tossing a yellow ball of explosive onto the ground. There was a thunderous flash and the whole area was enveloped in smoke causing him to cough.

Despite the smoke, he laughed. A wicked grin lit his face.

“This is fun! I should throw one of these things in a courtesan house and then watch the maidens run in panic!” he said wickedly. "Or better yet, I'll throw one when a self-important official is with a courtesan. Then I'll watch as they try to flee while still stuck together. Hahahahaha!”

He then examined the red smoke bombs. “I wonder why these are red while the rest are yellow? They are also more cylindrical than round. Never mind. Let’s do some more research.”

He tossed a red smoke bomb onto the ground. The flash was small and the smoke was practically non-existent.

"This one is a dud," he thought. "I'll toss one more."

As he was getting ready to toss a second red bomb, a strange sensation gripped his body.

"That wasn't a smoke bomb!" he swore. "That was a poison gas bomb!"

He could feel the dark energy of his Poison Field Inner Stance swirling within his body, separating out the odourless posionous gas that he had just breathed in. He sat down on the ground and waited for the Poison Field Inner Stance to do its work. After a while, when the time was right, he got up and urinated the poison out of his system.

"Thank the heavens that I have this ability to deal with poison," he muttered to himself. "Anybody else would probably have died. The moral of the story is that one should not go around experimenting with complicated things that one’s simple brains cannot fully comprehend."

Having recovered back his physical faculties, he got down under the bottom of the carriage and opened a secret compartment there. Carefully, he hid all the stuff inside before closing the compartment. Satisfied, he drove the carriage away from the scene.

+ + + + + +

A very tired Kotekichi wandered into an inn in coastal hamlet. He asked the waiter for a room.

“You are lucky,” said the waiter. “We have only one room to spare. However, the roof leaks slightly. We did not have the opportunity to fix it yet.”

“Will it be possible to sleep in the room with water coming through the roof?” asked Kotekichi.

“No problem,” replied the waiter. “The guest who was in here last night slept soundly throughout the night. The little leak did not bother him at all. Except for the fact that his arrows got wet a bit, everything else was fine.”

Kotekichi’s ears pricked up upon the mention of arrows.

“Did that man come in a horse drawn carriage?” he asked. “With a black and white pinto horse?”

“Yes,” replied the waiter. “Why do you ask?”

“I may know him,” replied Kotekichi.

“He said that his surname is Wen. Is that the same person?” asked the waiter.

“I am not sure,” answered Kotekichi. “What else do you know about him?”

“Nothing else,” replied the waiter. “Guests come and go all the time.”

“Describe to me what he looked like,” requested Kotekichi anxiously.

“I have forgotten what he looked like,” said the waiter, holding out his palm.

Kotekichi took the hint and dropped some money into the waiter’s palm.

The waiter smiled in satisfaction and then said, “Wa lau……my memory just came back! Okay, the man was tall and slim. Looked like thirty years old and was dressed in grey this morning.”

Kotekichi nodded. . It was the archer all right. “Do you know his full name?” he asked.

“He only said that his surname was Wen and he came from Tsinkiang,” replied the waiter.

Kotekichi thanked him. By a stroke of luck, he had found out what he needed to know. He would go to Tsinkiang and seek out the home of the archer of surname Wen. After that, he would consult Grandmaster Hattori about a fitting method for taking revenge.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji was not feeling happy. He had enough of muddy roads. The frequent heavy downpours made travelling slow. On top of that, one of his carriage wheels threatened to come off and he had to stop for one day by a village blacksmith to get it fixed. He looked at the sky and decided that he would not be able to make it to the nearest town. It would get dark soon. He decided to look for an inn to stay in the nearest hamlet. A wayside inn beckoned to him just as dusk approached. It was not the best of inns, but at least it looked habitable.

As soon as he reached the door of the inn, the innkeeper told him that the inn had already been booked for a large group of people for the night. The innkeeper suggested that if Wen Yiji did not mind, he could park his horse and carriage in the stable and then sleep inside the carriage. Wen Yiji nodded. At least he would be dry in the stable.

As he was feeding the horse by the light of a lamp, a familiar voice called out to him, "I see that you are unharmed, Master Wen!"

Wen Yiji looked up and saw a bearded figure at the stable doors.

"Squirrel Beard!" cried Wen Yiji. "I did not expect to see you here!”

Squirrel Beard walked into the stable and said warmly, “I did not expect to see you too.”

In a low voice, Wen Yiji asked, "Is the prince safe?"

"Yes," replied the Imperial Guard. "My unit chief is taking care of the prince right now. We booked the whole inn. I wish to thank you for what you did the other day."

"What did I do?'

"You raced down the road with your carriage and the ninjas chased after you. I was afraid that they would catch up with you and do you harm."

"I did not see them," lied Wen Yiji. "My horse can be really fast when it wants to run. I guess the ninjas could not catch up."

"Thank the gods for that."

"I fail to understand why anyone would want to assassinate a prince."

“Strange things are happening in the Imperial City, Master Wen. Would you like to meet my unit chief, Swordsman Liu? I am sure he would like to thank you once I tell them about what you did. The prince may even reward you.”

“No,” replied Wen Yiji empathetically. “I am no more an Imperial Guard and I wish not to get into matters concerning the Imperial Guards. After my stint in prison, I am now trying to make a new life for myself. I have no wish to get drawn into the affairs of whatever prince. See that no one knows of my involvement. You do understand, don’t you?”

“I understand. You are a good man, Master Wen. And your unit was a good unit. I heard that some of them died in prison. Most unfortunate.”

“Yes. Of the unit, only a few of us survived.”

“Last year, I was on an operation in Qinghe and I thought I saw a member of your old unit. His surname was Yee, I believe.”

“Yee? In Qinghe?”

“Yes. He was in the business of making cotton fabrics in the Northwestern sector of Qinghe. Near the Buhou bridge. He looked prosperous. At least it looked like Yee, but I could be wrong. I was in a hurry, so I did not stop to check him out. For all I know, it might not even be Yee.”

Wen Yiji remembered Yee. Their Imperial Guard unit had lost a very important consignment of goods meant for the Emperor. They had journeyed back to the Imperial City to report the loss. There were ten guards remaining from the unit who were still alive. Just before they reached the Imperial City, Yee had disappeared. The remaining nine were imprisoned by the Emperor for dereliction of duty. So, Yee had been hiding in Qinghe all this time. However, all that happened many years ago. What’s past was past.

“Hey,” continued Squirrel Beard. “I did promise that I will buy you three catties of wine if we meet again!”

“You are on duty,” said Wen Yiji. “I do not think that your unit chief will be happy if you drink.”

“You are right,” replied Squirrel Beard. “I’ll ask the waiter to send the wine to you. I'm afraid you will have to drink alone.”

“There is no need for that. Keep it for the next time when we meet. I hope your team manages to escort the prince back to the capital safely.”

Squirrel Beard then took his leave from Wen Yiji and went into the inn.

Wen Yiji mulled over what the bearded man had said. Qinghe was approximately ten days ride from the Imperial City. He remembered Yee. Their days as Imperial Guards happened a long time a go. He did not wish to remember any more.

A short time later, a waiter brought him three catties of wine and said, “A gentleman paid for this and asked me to deliver it to the carriage driver in the stable.”

Wen Yiji thanked the waiter.

Then, tipping the wine to his lips, he uttered silently, “Thank you, Squirrel Beard. One road follow wind.”

Early the next morning, while it was still dark and while everyone was still asleep, Wen Yiji hitched his horse to his carriage and left at dawn.

A few days later he reached Fuzhou.

+ + + + + +

The first thing he did upon reaching Fuzhou was to pay a courtesy visit to Governor Li.

"I heard that you went to Tsinkiang. You look fit and healthy," remarked Governor Li. "Must be the result of your sister's food. I remember her cooking. We still talk about it sometimes."

"We have opened a duck restaurant in Tsinkiang. Please drop by whenever you are visiting the town," invited Wen Yiji.

"We will do that," replied the Governor. "Your friends, the Chin brothers, have been very busy lately. They captured a pirate ship last month, slaughtered fifty pirates, sailed the pirate ship to Fuzhou and collected a large bounty."

"They did?"

"Yes. They bought a house with the bounty money. Now the eldest of them is going to get married as well."

"He is?"

"Yes. The marriage is set for early autumn, I hear. I am sure that they would want you to attend."

The Chin brothers were also Imperial Guards in Wen Yiji’s unit. They were all imprisoned together in Li Khor prison seven years ago. After they were freed, the Chin brothers went to work for Governor Li while Wen Yiji settled down in Tsinkiang.

“It is good that the Chin brothers have recovered their fighting ability,” commented Wen Yiji. “They understand each others moves very well and can confuse their enemy with a combination of moves. Individually, they are skilful. But when they fight together in combination, they fight like ten men.”

Governor Li nodded in agreement. Wen Yiji made some small talk and then excused himself. He next went to search for the Chin brothers. He finally located them and greeted them excitedly.

"Wen Yiji!" cried the eldest brother Chin Tua Kee. "What a pleasure to see you here!"

"Chin Tua Kee!" cried Wen Yiji. "The pleasure is mine. I hear that there is finally a girl willing to marry you! The world must have changed! Tell me what happened!"

"We were lucky," said Chin Tua Kee modestly. "We were investigating something along the coast about three days ride from here when we turned into some godforsaken fishing village. We saw people running helter skelter. It turned out that a pirate ship was attacking the village. So we raced down towards the sea. Having the advantage of higher ground, we easily slaughtered ten pirates during that initial charge. Then we turned our attention to the pirates looting the houses, killing them as they came out of the houses with arms full of loot. It was like swatting flies. After that, the rest was easy. The villagers stopped fleeing and came to help us fight when they realised that the pirates were being anihilated."

"We then loaded the dead bodies onto the ship and sailed it to Fuzhou with the help of a fisherman from the village," continued Chin Teong Kee, the middle brother. "Admiral Liang was in Fuzhou and he told us that we could collect the bounty for killing the pirates and capturing a pirate ship. It was quite a good sum. We bought a house with the money."

"When we went back to the fishing village later, one of the fishermen there offer my eldest brother his second daughter for marriage," said the youngest brother Chin Jia Lat. "Eldest brother saw the daughter and started salivating! He accepted immediately. The wedding is planned for early autumn."

"You were salivating?" asked Wen Yiji. “Was it because she was beautiful?”

"Actually, I liked her cooking," answered Chin Tua Kee.

"Huh? You did not ask if she could contort or not?"

"What has that got to do with marriage?"

"Oh excuse me. I must have misunderstood the whole concept of marriage," replied Wen Yiji. "Anyway, congratulations!"

"Thank you," said Chin Tua Kee graciously. "You will stay for the wedding?"

"I'm afraid not," replied Wen Yiji. "I am going to the Imperial City. I won't be back till late autumn. I will miss your wedding."

"Well, make sure that you don't miss mine," said Chin Teong Kee. "It will be my turn to get married next year."

"And the year after that, it will be me getting married," said Chin Jia Lat excitedly. "We are all getting married!"

Wen Yiji was nonplussed for a moment.

"Wa lau eh. I appear to be the only one without marriage plans. Let’s talk about more important matters,” said Wen Yiji. “Will we be going to the House of a Thousand Pleasures tonight?"

"You will have to go without me,” replied Chin Tua Kee. “I have outgrown it."

"Surely you don't mean that!" said a shocked Wen Yiji.

"There comes a time in a man's life when he realises that a courtesan will not be able to fulfil his real needs," said Chin Tua Kee sagely.

The other Chin brothers nodded in agreement. Wen Yiji was dumbfounded by their response.

In the late afternoon, Wen Yiji went to the House of a Thousand Pleasures alone. He selected a pretty courtesan and spent time cavorting naked with her in the room. Soon he climbed onto her and thrashed wildly away. When it was over, he felt a sense of deep emptiness in him. The satisfaction just wasn’t there.

He stared at his own reflection in the polished brass mirror.

"What is happening to me?" he wondered. "It used to be fun. It used to be satisfying. Oh, heck. I am getting old."

A flash of understanding hit him. He knew what his problem was; he was lonely.

Sighing, he dressed quickly and walked out of the courtesan house.

Dusk was approaching. Despite the darkening sky, he felt like walking. Perhaps it was an attempt to walk away his despondency. He did not feel like going back to the inn where he was staying. He knew that only an empty room awaited him. It was depressing. He would walk until it became too dark to walk, and then he would walk some more.

“Well, well, well,” a voice called out to him. “So you turned up like a bad…..bad…..something.”

“Who is that?” asked Wen Yiji.

He stared intently at the five menacing thugs who had acosted him. They looked vaguely familiar. Suddenly, he remembered. “I remember you, Scarface. I was in here last year and you tried to rob me. Then I stomped on your balls. Until you fainted. Your voice is much shriller now. I must have stomped too hard and turned you into an eunuch.”

The thug with the ugly scar on his face snarled, “I do not forget easily! I have waited long enough for you to show up. Today, it will be our turn to stomp on your balls. There are five of us. Each one stomp on one ball also you will die.”

“Huh?” said Wen Yiji. “No, no, no! Last year was my turn. This year is my turn again because it is still the same century. Your turn begins only next century!”

“Say what you wish, but you will not find it so easy to escape from us this time,” said Scarface. “He who plays with fire will pay with water!”

“Say what? The last time we met, all of you ended up unconscious on the ground. Like dead pigs! I do not think this time will be any different.”

“This time will be different,” said Scarface ominously. “We have learned the Invincible Crab kungfu! Like many crabs, we can’t be defeated!”

Scarface’s companions nodded in agreement.

“Invincible Crab kungfu?” asked Wen Yiji incredulously. “Wa piang….hot stuff, man. Where can one learn this?”

“We learned it from the latest kungfu school. The fees are very expensive. If you have to ask about it then you cannot afford it!”

“Look, somebody is obviously ripping off your money. There is no such thing as Invincible Crab kungfu.”

“You are so ignorant. He who is ignorant and knows not he is ignorant, he is a cow. Milk him.”

“Hahaha! It is so highly entertaining to hear you talk. You should consider a career as a clown. An eunuch clown.”

“Shut up, you little piece of shit. We will stomp you so hard until that you grow into a big pile of shit.”

“If you do that, your feet will be covered with shit. Then you will stink so badly that you mothers will not know you.”

One of the other men then sneered,” I have news for you…..it will not be so bad because we already stink so badly that our mothers don’t know us anymore! ”

“Will you shut up?” screamed Scarface at the one who just spoke. “He was insulting us! Don’t you understand anything? Must I explain everything and everything to you?”

“You must not blame him,” remarked Wen Yiji. “He's not thinking straight. The Invincible Crab kungfu probably got to his head. You know that crabs walk sideways. That means that they also think sideways!”

“I know that!” screamed Scarface. “Don’t you interfere when I am teaching my henchmen! If you don’t say a word, nobody will say that you are blind!”

“All right then. I’ll leave you to give your henchmen a good education. Goodbye.”

As Wen Yiji turned to walk away, Scarface shouted, “Stop that son of a whore!”

Wen Yiji turned around immediately and snarled, “Nobody imputes that my departed mother was a whore! Luckily for you, I am in no mood to stomp your balls this time.”

“Your mother is a cheap two-bit whore,” said Scarface. "So cheap that even money will not be able to buy an hour with her."

"I am warning you one last time," said Wen Yiji in quiet rage. "Though you may be sprouting nonsense that even the gods cannot understand, I advise you to keep a civil tongue. You are such an embarassment to humanity that you should never have been born. Your father would have done the world a great service if he had just spurted you out against the bathroom wall."

"Your mother smell of fish," said Scarface. "Rotting fish that is so rotten that even the rot was rotting."

Wen Yiji had enough. In a flash, he stepped foreward and slapped Scarface five times across the mouth.

Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak!

Scarface staggered backwards with a bloodied mouth. He pulled out a broadsword and swung it at Wen Yiji who ducked away elegantly.

"Just now, I said that I was not in the mood to stomp your balls," said Wen Yiji evenly. "But now, you just got me in the mood."

"Grab him fast fast so that I can kill him slowly," Scarface shouted to his henchmen. "Use the Invincible Crab kungfu!"

The four henchmen tried to grapple Wen Yiji and within moments he had kicked them all in the balls.

"Ayok!" "Ayok!" "Ayok!" "Ayok!"

As they were crouching down in agony, Wen Yiji walked over to Scarface and hit him with a series of blows. It happened so fast that Scarface did not even had time to raise his broadsword, but instead, he collapsed to the ground with numerous broken bones. Wen Yiji then stomped him in the balls. Scarface writhed about in agony but he did not faint.

“Whose turn is it next to let me stomp?” Wen Yiji asked.

The other four men knelt down and begged noisily for mercy.

"Why didn't you four use your Invincible Crab kungfu?" asked Wen Yiji.

There was a silence, then one of the men replied, "We did. Apparently it didn't work."

"That was the Invincible Crab kungfu?" asked Wen Yij in amazement. “Looks like shit. Listen.....your gang leader’s injuries will take years to heal if he is lucky. I suggest that you stop following that piece of crab excrement and go get a decent job. If I see you in town without a job, I will stomp on your balls, do you understand?”

They nodded.

"To show that you really understand what I am saying, I want each of you to kick your gang leader ten times. Hard!"

One by one, each of the four henchmen went to kick Scarface. Ten times. Hard.

When they had completed the job, Wen Yiji commented, "Actually, I did not mean that you should kick him in the balls. But since you had already done so, never mind. What's done is done. Tomorrow, he may want to kick you back."

The four men looked at him stupidly.

"Well, get out of here!" commanded Wen Yiji.

The four men fled, leaving Scarface lying unconscious from the severe kicking he had just received from his own men.

Wen Yiji walked back to the inn where he was staying. He felt less depressed than before because he felt that he had done something good. He had put one thug out of commission and he had managed to persuade four shiftless characters to go get a decent job. Yes, it did feel good.

Lying back on his bed, he contemplated his life and sighed, "Something must be very wrong with me if I have to beat people up in order to feel good. Violence begets violence. And the one who resorts to violence shows that he has no more arguments. When compared to others, my life is one long battle. Surely, this cannot be a good thing."

He sat in bed and looked around him in the darkness.

Then he continued, "He who lives by the sword will die by the sword. When you fall into a pit, you either die or get out. Life is all about the choices you make. With my superior kungfu, I could have chosen to walk away instead of bashing up Scarface and his men. Why didn't I make that choice?"

There was no answer from the four walls and so he laid back down on his bed again. "Tonight, I shall meditate on the divine purpose of my life. I will meditate all night until Heaven gives me a answer."

He closed his eyes to meditate.

Moments later, he was fast asleep and snoring. That night, nobody knew what answer Heaven gave him.

+ + + + + +

The next morning, as Wen Yiji was making his way to the pier to inquire about ship passages, he chanced upon an old acquaintance.

"Ouyang!" he shouted. "Is that you?"

"Master Wen!" answered back Ouyang. "It is good to see you. You have put on a lot of flesh since we last met at my young master Wu Chuan’s wedding."

"I am still skinny," laughed Wen Yiji.

"But not as skinny as previously, Master Wen."

"How is Master Wu Chuan and his wife Mistress Pei Pei?"

"They are well in Pingchen. I am in Fuzhou to escort a shipment of goods back to the Wu family."

Wen Yiji thought about Wu Chuan and his wife Pei Pei. They had found the Emperor’s lost consignment while Yiji was still in prison. Once the Emperor recovered his precious cargo, Wen Yiji and the Chin brothers were freed. The rest of the compatriots who were in prison with them did not survive.

"I really must thank them,” said Wen Yiji gratefully. If not for Master Wu Chuan and his wife Pei Pei, I would still be in prison. It seemed like a long time ago when bandits attacked us and robbed us of our consignment. I still cannot fathom out how the bandits knew that we were going to take that particular route on that day."

"I have a theory. It is not a very good theory though."

"I would like to hear it, Mister Ouyang."

"It is not my wish to cast suspicion on the members of your team, but I think the bandits had inside help."

"Inside help? How?”

“I used to work for the Yung An Escort Agency and we often had to escort large sums of money from town to town. We had a system where we frequently changed our routes to avoid being waylaid. We had a case where one of our men took a bribe from a gang of robbers. When he found out which route we were going to use, he left a message by the roadside. The message was retrieved by one of the gang members who had been tailing us. He then sent the message by carrier pigeon to his other gang members to inform us where we were going. They had all the time in the world to prepare booby traps for us. I almost lost my life on that occasion. But we were lucky. A group of skilled roving swordsmen were travelling in the same direction as us. When the robbers attacked, the swordsmen killed many of them. They captured some robbers alive and soon, the whole truth came out. We caught hold of the traitor and broke every bone in his body.”

“So you think my case was similar? And that there was a traitor in our midst?”

“Possibly.”

“But only Chief Feng knew which route we were going to take. He kept it very close to his chest. He died because of the ambush. I do not think he would betray himself and pay with his life.”

"It is possible that someone in your team was very familiar with Chief Feng’s methods and he could predict Chief Feng’s decisions. Very often there are only a few choices of route to take. Someone in your team had analyzed the choices and he knew Chief Feng well enough to guess which route that Chief Feng was going to use the next day. The traitor guessed the correct one and left behind a message detailing the route he had guessed. Someone picked up the message later and sent it forward by carrier pigeon or by a quick horseback rider using a short cut. Whoever received the message had at least one day to prepare the booby traps.”

"That is a very good theory. Now how are we to find the traitor in our midst?"

“That would be impossible now. I think that whoever the traitor was, he was killed accidentally during the ambush. Or maybe the robbers killed him intentionally so that they would not have to pay him a commission later. Who knows?”

“So now, we will not know who was guilty and who was innocent.”

“You can safely assume that those who landed up in Li Khor prison were innocent. The traitor would not go back to the Imperial City in order to face imprisonment. Therefore he must have died during the ambush.”

“I cannot imagine any of our team members betraying our cause.”

“He must have received a large sum of money for his betrayal. Every man has his price.”

“Every man may have his price but an Imperial Guard has his honour.”

“But a thief has no honour, Master Wen.”

Wen Yiji looked thoughtful, slowly digesting the theory that he had heard from the older man. Something in the back of his mind clicked.

Ouyang clasped his hands in front of him and said, “I have to leave now, Master Wen. I need to go and inspect my master’s shipment.”

“I see that you did not go back to work for the Yung An Escort Agency,” noted Wen Yiji.

“No, Master Wen. I enjoy working for the Wu family. They took me in when no one would hire me. On top of that, the food is much better!”

“Take care, Mister Ouyang,” laughed Wen Yiji.

“You too, Master Wen” smiled Ouyang.

Wen Yiji was left thinking about what Ouyang had just told him. He thought back about what had happened seven years ago. Chief Feng had planned his routes alone, but his maps was always kept by one man; Imperial Guard Yee. Whenever Chief Feng wanted a map drawn, he would always use the Yee’s services because Yee was the only Imperial Guard in the unit who could draw decently. If anyone could read Chif Feng’s mind, it would be Yee.

All the men in the team guarding the consignment were either dead or imprisoned. All except Yee who had vanished silently. Ouyang said that that the traitor must have received a large sum of money. Just a few days ago, Squirrel Beard had informed him that he had seen Yee in Qinghe looking prosperous.

For a long time, Wen Yiji stood by the street thinking about the matter. The incident happened a long time back. He ought to let the matter rest, but he could not. Too many of his close friends and compatriots had died during that fateful trip.

Finally, he came to a decision. He would go to Qinghe and investigate former Imperial Guard Yee. He tried to recall the full name of the man. Ah yes, it was Yee Ng Chai.

Chapter 4 : For whom the stars shine

In a little house in a town south of the Yellow River, Zheng Shi Mei sat on a stool and fed porridge to her aged father who was sitting in bed. She was eighteen years old and was a good looking girl. Healthy and a bit tomboyish, she was the only child of a Physician Zheng. The most attractive feature about her was her eyes, for she had beautiful eyes.

Patiently, she fed her sick father until he decided that he would eat no more.

"One more mouthful, father," she coaxed.

"No, my daughter," he said slowly.

"You will not get well if you do not eat," she said.

"Shi Mei, I am dying. The dying do not need to eat."

"Do not say that, father. You will have a long life."

"We should not run away from the truth. People grow old and then they die."

"You are a physician. A good one. If you can extend the life of your patients, then you can also extend your own life.”

“My daughter, a man is not supposed to live forever under the laws of Heaven.”

Shi Mei looked sadly at her father. She knew his problem. Ever since her mother had passed away a few years ago, her father had lost the will to live. He had steadily grown weaker and weaker. Yet there was nothing much physically wrong with him. However, she knew that the sickness of the heart could not be healed by all the herbs of the earth.

For the past few months, Physician Zheng stayed in bed most of the time. Even when the sick came to seek treatment from him, he would not get up to see them. Instead, Shi Mei would take the pulse of the patient on his behalf and then go to her father’s room to tell him about the patient’s symptoms. The father would diagnose what was wrong and Shi Mei would then write out the herbal prescription for the patient. Often, her father would be asleep and Shi Mei would write the prescription herself. She had learned enough of the healing arts to know how her father would treat the patient. The patients got healed and they never found out that the treatment came from Physician Zheng’s daughter.

Physician Zheng stirred and said slowly, “Shi Mei……there are certain things that you have to do after I die.”

“What is it father?”

“You have to bury me next to your departed mother.”

“Yes, father.”

“After that you will have to journey to the house of your betrothed. A girl has to be married within one hundred days of her father’s death. Otherwise she will have to wait three years. This is the tradition.”

“Then I will wait three years, father.”

“No, my daughter. That would not be fair to the family of your betrothed. I think your future parents-in-law would not want to wait. They were quite specific that you should enter their home as their daughter-in-law when you are eighteen.”

“I have not seen my parents-in-law for some time now. Maybe they have changed their mind about wanting me as a daughter-in-law.”

“The betrothal agreement was made in the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy. It is not child’s play and cannot simply be broken. It is a binding agreement made in the presence of the Goddess of Mercy.”

“Father, what if my future-in-laws changed their mind about me? What if they wish to annul the agreement? I cannot force myself uninvited into their household.”

“During the betrothal agreement, we exchanged gifts. They gave you a gold bangle and I gave them a green jade elephant. If they wish to annul the agreement, then you must return to them the gold bangle and take back the green jade elephant. Only then can the agreement be annulled. Do you understand?”

“Yes father.”

“Remember, after my burial, you are to quickly journey to their home. Do not wait until the hundred days are up.”

“Yes father.”

“Once you are in their household, then your duty as my daughter has ended.”

Shi Mei sobbed and said, “My duty to you will never end, my dear father.”

“You are a good daughter, Shi Mei. You will make a good daughter-in-law.”

+ + + + + +

Up north, in the Imperial City, the leader of the Green Scorpion Sect was just receiving his final instructions. He was thin man with a wispy beard and was almost scholarly looking. Tucked in his waistband were two flutes. One was an ordinary flute for playing music and the other was a flute that could kill with the sound it produced. His name was Chui La Pah, better known in certain martial underworld circles as the Flute Master.

A well-dressed man was talking to him, “Do you understand what you are supposed to do, Master Chui?”

“Yes, Prince Jin,” replied the Flute Master. “My men and I are at your disposal. The Green Scorpion Sect will perform everything to your satisfaction. We shall deliver the Ghost Ninja to you before long.”

Prince Jin smiled and said, “I do not want him hurt in any way. I want him to work for me. Make sure your men understand that.”

“We understand, Prince Jin. There will be no trouble if he chooses to come with us quietly. But he may not.”

“Then we will have to persuade him. How well do you know him?”

“We were friends a long, long time ago. There were three of us; the Ghost Ninja, Master Sun Cheong of the Buddha Palm and me. Later, we had some disagreement and after that the three of us stopped talking to each other.”

“What disagreement?”

“We all wanted the same woman.”

“Ahhhh…..classic situation. Then what happened?”

“Then she disappeared. The three of us did not speak to each other after that.”

“Who was the best fighter among you three?”

“It used to be Master Sun Cheong. His mystical Buddha Palm was powerful, more powerful than any other iron palms. He could also deliver a palm blast that is effective at twelve steps. He could kill several swordsmen before their swords could reach him. I once saw him kill a huge bull with just a finger tap.”

“So, you are not able to defeat him?”

“It depends. My martial art has seen great progress during the past few years and today, the Sounds of Hell from my Devil Flute has a range of fifty steps. Once I blow on my Devil Flute, everything within a fifty-step radius will die within a short time. As long as I stay outside the twelve-step radius of the Buddha Palm, I will be able to kill Sun Cheong.”

“His twelve steps against your fifty steps; you have the advantage. What about the Ghost Ninja?”

“He was a good fighter, not supremely good, but it was difficult to fight against him at night when he turned invisible. In the brightness of daytime, his invisibility was not perfect. You could see his eyes as well as the wavy background effect whenever he moved.”

“In other words, the Ghost Ninja is vulnerable in the daytime.”

“Yes. He can be subdued in the day. But in the night, his invisibility will work well even in a room lit by oil lamps and candles. He can be standing two steps away and no one will know that he is there.”

“What about his eyes? Will they still be visible?”

“Yes. They will gleam and reflect light. But if he closes his eyes to half-slits, they will be very difficult to detect. However, even though the Ghost Ninja is difficult to see at night, a top kungfu exponent with supreme hearing can still track him by sound.”

Prince Jin looked thoughtful for a moment, “It looks like you are the most powerful among the three. The way you killed the Fourth Prince by getting on board his ship and playing your Devil Flute was masterful. My spies told me that the Emperor was baffled because not a single one on board lived to tell the tale!”

“I did not have to play my flute very long for them all to die.”

“Well done. You have served me well.”

“Since you have me at your service, Prince Jin, I do not see the need for the Ghost Ninja at all.”

“You are a good killing machine, Master Chui,” said Prince Jin. “However, each time you play your Devil Flute, everybody dies. Sometimes I want only one target to be assassinated, leaving everyone else alive. That is why I need the services of the Ghost Ninja.”

“Yes, my lord,” said Master Chui the Flute Master. “I will go and get his cooperation.”

Prince Jin said, “Good. If you wish to intercept him in Chingnan, you had better hurry.”

“I will now go to meet up with my disciples. Together we will ride south to Chingnan immediately.”

“When this is over, you and your men will be rewarded amply for your loyalty to me.”

Chui La Pah bowed his thanks and then left the presence of the prince.

After he had gone, Prince Jin called one of his bodyguards to his presence. “Red Wind,” he asked, “Have you heard of a Master Sun Cheong?”

The man known as Red Wind replied, “I think he is a gambler. His favourite game is ‘Three Cards’. He always seem to win.”

“I mean Sun Cheong the Buddha Palm! Do you know anything about him?”

“Oh, another Sun Cheong….no, I don’t know anything about him.”

“You don’t seem to know anything!” thundered Prince Jin in anger. “I wonder why I keep you around!”

+ + + + + +

In another part of the Imperial City, Concubine Lin was having a discussion with her son, the Seventh Prince.

“Mother,” said the Seventh Prince. “I do not trust my uncle, Prince Jin. I think he has his own motives for wishing to help us.”

“I am aware of that, my son,” said Concubine Lin. “He is making use of us just as we are making use of him. We will let him kill off the other princes so that you will remain the sole heir of the Emperor. Once you have become the sole heir, we will have to get rid of him.”

“Once he has killed the other princes, he will also kill me. Then maybe he will kill the Emperor so that he can become the next Emperor.”

“We must make sure that he does not become too powerful, my son. He has the help of the Green Scorpion sect. Chui Lah Pah, the Flute Master, follows him around like a sychophantic dog. If your uncle manages to secure the services of the invisible Ghost Ninja, then it will be very difficult for us to handle him later. I do not like the idea of the presence of an invisible assassin. No emperor will be safe!”

“We will have to act to protect our interests. Luckily, unknown to my uncle, we managed to secure the services of Master Sun Cheong. Prince Jin may have the services of Chui La Pah and the Green Scorpion Sect, but we have the Buddha Palm.”

“Where is Master Sun Cheong?”

“He is outside.”

“Good. Send him in. I wish to speak with him.”

“Yes, mother.”

Sun Cheong was called into the room and Concubine Lin questioned him, “Master Sun Cheong. I hope that you are happy serving my son.”

“To serve the Seventh Prince is my duty and my great honour,” replied Sun Cheong.

“One day, when the prince is in great power, you will be given a position of authority.”

“I will do my best to help the Seventh Prince achieve great power.”

“Good,” said Concubine Lin with satisfaction. “Have you heard of the Ghost Ninja?”

“Yes,” Sun Cheong replied. “He is a foreigner from the land of the rising sun who has settled down here. His kungfu is unusual. He has invisibility at night.”

“I heard about that. Have you met him before?”

“Yes I have. But I do not like him.”

“Why?”

Sun Cheong looked uncomfortable. Then he spoke, “A very long time ago, Chui La Pah, the Ghost Ninja and I loved the same woman. She came down with a mysterious disease. The Ghost Ninja was taking her to seek a well-known healer in the mountains when she died. The Ghost Ninja buried her quietly and would not tell me where she was buried. However, I managed to trace the route he took and found out where he had buried her. It is not far from Chingnan.”

Concubine Lin digested this piece of news for a few moments. Then she spoke, “My brother-in-law, Prince Jin, is trying to secure the services of the Ghost Ninja. It is my wish that this should be stopped. Can you do it?”

“Yes. But I may have to kill the Ghost Ninja.”

“Do whatever you need to do. I do not wish to know the details.”

“Of course. However, I do not know where he is at present.”

“I was told that he passes through Chingnan every summer.”

Sun Cheong looked thoughtful. “Chingnan? Why would he be passing through Chingnan every summer? Unless it is to cross the Yellow River to visit …..hmmmm……I think I know where he is going! He is going to visit the grave of the woman. She died in summer. If he had been passing through Chingnan every summer, then he must have been visiting her grave every summer!”

“Now that you know where he is going, you know what to do,” said the Seventh Prince. “Act immediately!”

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji woke up refreshed and fully charged. The night before, he had drunk a huge bowl of bitter gourd soup just before sleeping. He looked out of the window. It was already early morning. He would have to get his carriage to the pier soon to catch the ship that was to take him to Tsingtao in the Shandong Province. His plan was to sail to Tsingtao, then drive his carriage overland until he came to the Yellow River, cross it by boat and then journey on to Qinghe to look for Yee Ng Chai. The junk’s sailing master had told him that the vessel could take his carriage but not his horse. He would have to leave the animal with the Chin brothers. He could always buy another horse for the carriage once he landed in Tsingtao.

“Tsingtao,” he mused. “I hear that it is a good place for tonifying drinks.”

He stretched himself in bed before getting up to dress.

“Today, I will turn my life around. Today, I will breathe twice and think three times before I thrash my enemy four times. I will not allow my life to be ruled by violence. Yes, the time for change is at hand. One has to be resolved and the thing is done,” he talked to himself in a motivational manner. “Today is the best day of the rest of my life!”

He walked out of his room and saw a waiter.

“Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own,” he said. “If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”

The waiter stared at him open-mouthed.

As Wen Yiji passed the innkeeper, he uttered, “Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes. Govern yourself and you can govern the world.”

It was the turn of the innkeeper to stare open-mouthed.

Outside the inn, there were a number of traders selling potatoes. There had been a glut of potatoes in the province and each trader had great difficulty in getting rid of his stock. Wen Yiji strolled out of the inn and walked past the row of traders, ignoring their pleas to buy their potatoes.

He needed some dry biscuits for his sea journey. So he stopped before the last trader to ask if he had any biscuits to sell.

“No, I don’t have any biscuits,” replied the trader. “Why don’t you buy my potatoes instead?”

“Why would I want to buy your potatoes?” asked Wen Yiji. “I want dry biscuits, not potatoes.”

“Ahhh…..said the trader. “The potatoes I am selling are different from the potatoes you see around you. They are 'six methods' Liufa potatoes!”

“Your potatoes do look different,” commented Wen Yiji. “But what on earth are Liufa potatoes?”

“Liufa potatoes are good for health. They benefit the human body by six methods. They detoxify the kidney, prevent dryness of the blood, relieve wind in the nose, clear the stomach fire, unblock the channels to the organs and release the muscles of the head.”

“Huh? Say that again?”

“They detoxify the kidney, prevent dryness of the blood, relieve wind in the nose, clear the stomach fire, unblock the channels to the organs and release the muscles of the head.”

“Interesting! But no thanks. I am not going home to cook potatoes. I am going to the Imperial City.”

“The Imperial City? Liufa potatoes will fetch two taels of silver for each sack in the Imperial City! Let me introduce you to a most wonderful business opportunity, my friend! I will sell you all my ten sacks of potatoes for the cheap sum of only five taels.”

Wen Yiji thought quickly. Maybe he should become a merchant. He was travelling with an empty carriage to the Imperial City. This could be the opportunity that he was looking for. Instead of depending on weapons to get on with life, he could depend on his business skills. He had seen traders at work. It was easy. All they do is talk, talk and talk. Yes, he could do that.

Aloud, he said, “Your offer is interesting. But let me introduce you to the theory of economics. Perhaps you did not notice that there is a glut of potatoes going on. Your ten sacks of potatoes are not worth half a tael of silver altogether!”

“Ah…..my friend,” said the trader, unwilling to give up. “Let me introduce you to the world of commodities. As you can see, the glut is in normal potatoes. There is no glut in Liufa potatoes!”

“True, true. But let me introduce you to the substitution theory. When there is a fall in price of a kind of goods, it will also result in a fall in price of the substitute goods. Meaning that when the price of lychee goes down, the price of longan will also go down."

“You drive a good bargain my friend. Seeing that you are so good looking….all right… I will be willing to drop my price to four taels just for you.”

“I may be good looking. But good looking people also have to work. I am not like some people who are hired just for their looks and spend their free time writing stories. However, since I admire your ability to recognize good looking people, I will increase my offer to one tael for your potatoes.”

“One tael? I would not sell my potatoes for less than three. My loss will be unbearable. My wife and children will laugh at me if I do!”

“Your wife and children will be disappointed with you if you take home ten sacks of unsold potatoes tonight. And tomorrow night. They will have to eat all the unsold potatoes from morning till evening! Soon, they will be shitting and farting potatoes like no tomorrow. Look around you. There are no other buyers in sight. There is plentiful of supply but no demand.”

“All right. You drive a hard bargain. Let us come to an agreeable conclusion to our negotiation. One tael is too little for me to make a profit. Why don’t you make me a better offer than that? These are Liufa potatoes. They can detoxify the kidney, prevent dryness of the blood, relieves wind in the nose, clears the stomach fire, unblock the channels to the organs and release the muscles of the head.”

“Yes, yes, I know! Two taels for the whole lot. That is my best offer. I can’t believe that I am wasting time talking to you when there is so much work waiting to do.”

“Two and a half taels!” countered the trader.

Wen Yiji sighed loudly and then turned to walk away.

“Wait!” shouted the trader. “I spoke too fast. I meant to say two taels!”

With that, Wen Yiji bought the ten sacks of Liufa potatoes for two taels of silver. It would be his first experimentation in trading. A new life was beginning. A whole new dawn, perhaps.

"I am now a merchant!" he told himself. "My fighting days are over. This is a whole new beginning. Today is the first day of the rest of my life!"

The Chin brothers came to send him off to the pier. At the sailing vessel, Wen Yiji sent his carriage on deck and handed his horse to the Chin brothers.

“Goodbye my friends,” he said.

“Goodbye, Master Wen,” they uttered. “We wish you the luck of Heaven.”

Wen Yiji thanked them warmly and then boarded the sailing vessel.

+ + + + + +

The light of the candle threw flickering shadows around the tiny room. Without getting up, the old man on the bed feebly attempted to push open the window by his bed.

Zheng Shi Mei gently informed her father, “It is night, father. There is nothing to see.”

“Stars......” murmured her father. “Stars......”

His daughter understood. When her mother was still alive, both her father and mother would often go out at night to admire the stars. Carefully, she opened the windows and peer out into the night sky. There were no stars to be seen. It had been raining for the past few days and the clouds must have covered the nighttime sky.

“The stars are not out tonight, father,” she said.

Her father closed his eyes. Then he opened them again.

“Shi Mei......” he gasped. “The time has come….this is my final night with you….your mother…..awaits me….”

“Father….” she sobbed. “No.”

“Stars......” he murmured again weakly.

In tears, Shi Mei rushed out of the house into the darkness of the night outside and looked upwards. There was not a single star in the sky. The vast expanse of darkness enveloped everything under Heaven.

She looked towards the heavens and cried out, “My father has been a good man all his life! All he wanted was just a glimpse of a star or two before he passes on! Is that too much for a good man to expect?”

There was no answer from the sky. The all-powerful darkness remained.

She walked into the house and tried to make her father as comfortable as possible. The wind came in through the open window and so she thought that it would perhaps be better to shut it to keep the wind out. As she made a move to close the window, she saw a tiny glimmer of light in the distance. Then another. Then another.

“Stars, father,” she exclaimed. “The stars have come out!”

Carefully, she propped up her father in bed and cradled him in her arms. He stared out through the open window and murmured, “Stars......I see them......”

The old man smiled and breathed his last.

Shi Mei looked at the stars and counted seven of them. “Thank you,” she whispered.

It was some time before she realized that her father had died. For a while, she clung to him, unwilling to let him go. Finally, she released the cold dead body of her father. That night, she wept till dawn.

Chapter 5: The hunt for the Ghost Ninja

When the huge sailing junk docked at Tsingtao, Wen Yiji disembarked with his carriage. The wind was good and the sea journey had taken only about half a month. Wen Yiji had to pull his carriage to the nearest inn. The next morning he inspected a horse from a man introduced by the innkeeper. The horse was a black and white pinto,

“This horse is the best there is,” claimed the man who was trying to sell the horse. “It came from very good stock that is blessed by the gods. The father was a champion black stallion and the mother was a black-and-white pinto. You won’t find a faster horse in the whole of Tsingtao!”

They haggled over the price and Wen Yiji bought the horse. He hitched the horse to the carriage and journeyed westwards. He planned to cross the Yellow River at Chingnan in order to reach Qinghe.

The horse turned out to be slower than his former horse and Wen Yiji scolded it frequently, “Stupid horse! If you don’t move any faster than this, I will turn you into pet food!”

The horse ignored him and carried on with its slow leisurely pace.

“Call yourself a horse? You are a disgrace to your species!” he berated. "I bet your mother was a snail and your father was a tortoise."

Again, the horse ignored his insults and plodded on. The horse was partially deaf as well.

+ + + + + +

Shi Mei knelt before the grave of her father. She had buried him next to the grave of her departed mother. She was certain that they would be happy to be together.

She knew what she had to do. Her father had instructed her well. She would go to the home of her betrothed to present herself. The journey would take many days of walking and she would have to travel light. She carried with her her father's acupuncture needles and also the golden bangle that was given by her future parents-in-law. She had never been to the home of her betrothed. However, before his death, her father had given her a map that she could use to guide her where to go.

“Father, mother,” she called out. “It is time to say goodbye. I will now journey to the home of my betrothed. Once I belong to their family, I do not think that I will have the opportunity to worship you both again. You will have to take care of each other. Please accept three final bows from your daughter.”

She bowed to each grave in turn and then got up. Wiping back the tears from her eyes, she picked up her belongings and headed north.

+ + + + + +

The town of Chingnan was partially flooded. It was not a particularly serious situation. The rain had been constant and the Yellow River had burst its levee in one place resulting in waters pouring out into the town. The townsfolk had immediately gone to repair the damage to the levee and then reinforced the bank that held back the river. However, some parts of town were slightly wet and difficult to walk through.

Chui La Pah was squatting in the toilet in one of the inns of Chingnan when he heard someone calling him outside the door. “Sifu! Sifu! Our target has been spotted!”

“Wait!” Chui La Pah said in excitement, “Give me a few more moments! Nnnnnnnngggggggg........”

Finally, after a long time of coaxing his bowels, he opened the toilet door and came out. He looked at the younger man in front of him who was holding his nose and trying hard not to breathe. It was one of the underlings in the Green Scorpion Sect who had disturbed his time of shit.

“Are you sure it was the Ghost Ninja?” asked Chui La Pah iritably. They alreaady had a few false alarms. "I don't want to go on another wild goose chase again!"

“Senior brother Fire Cloud identified him,” replied the younger man.

“Where is the target?”

“Sitting in a wine shop on the other side of town. I was with senior brother Fire Cloud when we spotted an old man drinking alone in the shop. We went in to check. He looked exactly as the picture that you had drawn. And his left little finger was missing! It was him. Fire Cloud was sure of that!”

Chui La Pah nodded. Fire Cloud was his brightest disciple. He was more skillful than his two other senior disciples, Blackface and Whiteface. Together, the trio was a good fighting team and could strike terror in the hearts of all those who opposed the Green Scorpion Sect. Chui La Pah had often sent the three disciples to terrorize his enemies into submission.

“Fire Cloud told me to rush here to inform you while he went into the shop to keep an eye on the old man,” continued the underling. “On the way, I met brothers Blackface and Whiteface and told them where the old man was. They have already rushed to join senior brother Fire Cloud.”

“All right,” said Chui La Pah. “Take me to the place.”

+ + + + + +

The old man, known as the Ghost Ninja was enjoying his wine. He liked the wine in this particular shop. He was not very old; only about sixty years of age. He was aware of the young man seated at the table some distance away but he did not pay him any special attention. Fire Cloud had taken great pains not to let the Ghost Ninja suspect that he was being watched.

Blackface and Whiteface walked into the shop and spotted their senior brother Fire Cloud. They walked over hurriedly to join him.

“Where is he?” asked Blackface excitedly.

“There….I see him,” said Whiteface. “Over there!”

“Will you two sit down?” whispered Fire Cloud angrily. “Do you want him to know that we are watching him?”

They sat down and Blackface took out a drawing from his clothes. He looked at the drawing and then he looked at the old man seated three tables away. “He looks like the figure in the drawing,” he said finally.

“Keep your voice down, you fool!” scolded Fire Cloud. He was getting exasperated.

“Let me see the drawing,” said Whiteface as he took the drawing away from Blackface. “It certainly looked like him. Now we have to check to see if he has a missing little finger on his left hand.”

“No need to check,” said a voice next to them. “It is missing.”

The disciples of the Green Scorpion Sect looked up. The old man had suddenly appeared next to them and was looking at the drawing on the table. “Very well drawn,” he said with an amused tone. “It certainly looks like me!”

As they stared at him, he continued, “You people must be looking for someone. May I ask who?”

Blackface stood up and said, “We are looking for you, Ghost Ninja."

"You are mistaken," said the old man. "I am not the Ghost Ninja."

Whiteface looked at the old man menacingly and said, "What is the matter? Too scared to admit who you are? You are the Ghost Ninja all right. You will come with us. We have a use for you.”

“And if I refuse?” asked the old man.

“Then I will have to force you to come.”

"You can try but you won’t suceed," remarked the old man drily as he walked towards the door.

"Stop him!" yelled Blackface.

Fire Cloud was already at the door with his sword drawn. He said slowly, "Nobody leaves until our sifu arrives."

"And who is your sifu?" asked the Ghost Ninja.

"Master Chui La Pah, the Flute Master," replied Fire Cloud.

The old man was silent for a moment. He looked thoughtful. Finally he said, "I have no wish to meet with Master Chui La Pah. There is no friendship between us."

"Nevertheless, you will wait!" insisted Fire Cloud. "He is on his way here now!"

"I will kill anyone who tries to stop me from leaving," murmured the old man.

The three disciples of Chui La Pah were determined not to let the Ghost Ninja leave. They knew that once he was out of the shop, he would disappear. Everywhere the old man turned, he was met with a drawn sword. Mumbling angrily, the Ghost Ninja realised that he would have no alternative but to fight his way out. Quickly, he reached out and picked up one of the shop's short wooden benches.

“Fighting with furniture?” asked Fire Cloud derisively. “You can’t afford proper weapons?”

“This thing can kill you,” retorted the old man. The next moment, he was fighting against three swords that came at him from all directions.

The old man was much faster on his feet than his opponents. However, in the confined space of the shop, it was difficult to move about. He was kept busy leaping over chairs and tables and defending himself against the powerful weapon strokes of the three younger men. They chased after him, amazed that such an older man can be so nimble of feet. Despite their superiority in numbers, they could not corner the old man.

"If I do not break out of here before Chui La Pah arrives, I will have no chance to escape later," the Ghost Ninja thought furiously. "These swordsmen are good. I can take them in open ground, but not in here!"

A chance collision between Blackface and Whiteface in mid-air presented him with an opportunity. As the two men fell to the ground, there was only Fire Cloud left to deal with. The old man ran and swerved past Fire Cloud. As he was about to rush out of the door, Fire Cloud dived after him with an outstretched sword.

The old man swirled away at the last instant, avoided the sword and brought the bench down onto the head of Fire Cloud. The bench landed on the neck instead. There was a sound of bone snapping and then Fire Cloud collapsed on the floor with his head at an unnaturally odd angle. His eyes were open and glassy while the body was unmoving.

With a cursory glance at the dead Fire Cloud, the Ghost Ninja ran out of the door.

Just at that moment, Chui La Pah arrived on horseback. The Flute Master and the Ghost Ninja stared at each other.

"It has been a long while since we last met," said the Flute Master. "I hope you have been well."

"I am still alive," replied the Ghost Ninja. "You must be disappointed!"

"I come with a message. My master wishes to meet with you," said the Flute Master.

"Ahhhh.....so you have a master," retorted the Ghost Ninja. "A running dog for somebody."

"Everybody is always serving somebody. Even you. In the past, I remember that you were always conducting assassinations for people who could afford you. Anybody with money would be your master."

"That was in the past when I was young and foolish. I have mended my ways and moved on to be my own master. It looks like you have not progressed at all."

"Say what you wish, but you are coming with me to meet my master."

"Try and make me!" challenged the Ghost Ninja.

As the Flute Master was deciding how to respond to the challenge, Blackface staggered to the door in shock and shouted, ""He killed brother Fire Cloud! Sifu, the Ghost Ninja killed Fire Cloud!"

"Fire Cloud is dead?" asked the Flute Master in shock. "My eldest disciple is dead?"

"Your disciples tried to kill me. I was merely defending myself," explained the Ghost Ninja.

"He killed Fire Cloud!" shouted Blackface again. "Sifu, we must avenge Fire Cloud!"

With an ugly snarl enveloping his face, the Flute Master pulled out one of his flutes from his belt. The Ghost Ninja did not hesitate anymore. Using an impressive lightness kungfu, he leapt upwards to the roof of the nearest building and then jumped to the next roof behind. He was closely followed by the Flute Master who blew a short note on his Devil Flute in mid-air. The Ghost Ninja collapsed as the Sounds of Hell hit him. He turned around as the Flute Master landed on the roof.

"This is not possible!" gasped the Ghost Ninja. "I was more than twenty steps from you!"

"Let me bring you up to date," sneered the Flute Master. "I have extended the range of the Devil Flute. It is now effective up to fifty steps. Unlike you, I have progressed much!"

"If you play your hellish flute on this roof, all the people living in the house under us will also be injured," remarked the Ghost Ninja. "They will eventually die if you don't stop blowing."

"Do you think that I care?" asked Chui La Pah unfeelingly. "I will report to the one that I serve that you have refused to meet him. Your time is up, Ghost Ninja. For killing my disciple, I will now send you to meet the King of Hades. Take in your last breath. Do you have anything to say before I take away your miserable life?"

"Yes, two words," said the Ghost Ninja. "Blow me."

As the Flute Master lifted the Devil Flute to his mouth, the Ghost Ninja made a giant leap upwards to the next roof. The devilish sounds of the flute hit the old man painfully in mid-air and he lost control of his body. However, the initial momentum of his body kept him flying through the air. He landed clumsily on the next roof and then rolled down the roof slope before falling onto the branch of a tree. He bounced off the branch onto the road below and rolled a few more steps. He was internally injured, but out of the fifty-step range of the Devil Flute. With a supreme effort, he picked himself up and ran around the corner of another house.

The Flute Master did not see where the Ghost Ninja had gone. He gave chase down the road while blowing on his flute at the same time. The occupants of each house he passed collapsed as the Flute Master ran by. But soon, it became obvious to the Flute Master that the Ghost Ninja had eluded him. He stopped playing his Devil Flute and walked back to where his disciples were.

"The old man is fast. I'll give him that," he muttered angrily. "But he will not be able to escape me forever."

Chui La Pah made his way back to the wine shop. He barked at his two disciples Blackface and Whiteface, "Get on your horses! We are going after the Ghost Ninja. He is hurt and can't be far. Tell our people to be alert. I am certain that he will be trying to cross the river. We will search all the jetties."

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji was fed up. He had just arrived at Chingnan and found it to be a mess with the threat of floods hanging over the town. It was not the fun town that he once remembered. The main jetties in town were not in operation as the boat operators appeared to have disappeared. However, he remembered a jetty that was usable on the outskirts of town. He hoped that he would be able to find a boat there.

The horse was tired as it pulled the carriage along the road to the outskirts jetty. It slowed down to a crawl and nothing that Wen Yiji could do would made it move faster.

As it moved slowly along its path, a young girl walking briskly overtook the carriage. This annoyed Wen Yiji and he scolded his horse, “Even a young girl can walk faster than you! Have you no shame? You may as well stop calling yourself a horse. Call yourself a cow instead!”

The girl glanced at the horse and then turned to Wen Yiji and smiled.

"There is something wrong with your horse, mister" she said, slowing down to walk beside the carriage.

Wen Yiji asked, "Are you sure?"

"Of course," she replied. "I am an animal doctor and I know such things."

Wen Yiji stared at her. She was young. She was probably around the same age as his sister. He stared at her in admiration. She had good looks with nice lovely eyes.

The girl smiled again and said, "It is true. I really am an animal doctor."

"You are indeed very young to be an animal doctor," he said. "I don't know what is wrong with this horse but it seems to be very lazy."

"It is suffering from Aids," she said.

"Aids? My horse is suffering from Aids? Oh shit!" he cried. "When is it expected to die?"

"Oh, don't worry," she assured him. "Aids is totally curable."

"It is? I must admit my ignorance, but what is Aids?"

"Ass is damn slow," replied the girl. "That's what it is."

"Oh," he said in relief. "I was worried that it could be one of those modern incurable diseases that affect the immunity system."

"Don't worry. Would you like me to treat your horse? It will take me just a short moment."

Wen Yiji was sceptical. The lass did not look at all like an animal doctor. But he liked her looks and so he did not mind talking to her.

He reined in the horse to a stop before asking, "Are you sure that you know anything about horses?"

The girl looked at him steadily and said, "Your horse is five years old, has a constipation problem, and is partially deaf. It's father was a white stallion and its mother was a black and white pinto mare."

"Aha! That is not correct! Actually, this horse was fathered by a champion black stallion!"

"No, I am right! The black stallion was not the father. An unknown white stallion was the real father. It probably slipped into the stables one night to impregnate the mare without the owner knowing. I’m sorry to say this but this horse is a bastard."

"You can tell all that from just looking at my horse?" asked Wen Yiji incredulously.

"Sure, why not?" she answered simply. "I don't like to see an animal suffer needlessly when it could be cured. My offer still stands. Would you like me to treat your horse?"

"Oh, okay. Go ahead!"

The girl, Zheng Shi Mei, reached into her satchel and brought out three acupuncture needles. Before Yiji could say anything, she poked a needle into the rump of the horse. The animal did not bat an eyelid. She poked the second needle above the asshole. The horse remained still.

Then she poked the third needle into the left rump. The horse neighed loudly and suddenly bolted off, pulling the carriage strongly along. Wen Yiji was so surprised that he did not think of reining in the horse. Instead, he allowed the horse to gallop forward at full speed.

Soon, the carriage reached the jetty at the outskirts of town and stopped on its own accord. There was only one boat tethered to the jetty. It was a large boat.

"Good day, mister," greeted the boatman. "Are you seeking to charter a boat to cross the river?"

"Yes," replied Yiji. "I will need to get my horse and carriage across. A big boat is what I need."

"My boat is big enough, sir" said the boatman. "I have transported many carriages across the river in the past without problems. However, you will need to see that your horse does not panic and jump into the river during the crossing."

"Don't worry about my horse," said Yiji. "It does not know how the "panic" word is written."

“Neither do I,” said the boatman. "I never went to school either."

"This boat you have is very big. Surely you are not handling it alone?"

"Don't you worry. The boat may be large, but I can handle it easily. I have thirty years of experience in this."

Wen Yiji and the boatman haggled the price and finally came to a satisfactory agreement.

Just as they had concluded their agreement, Zheng Shi Mei came running up and reached the jetty out of breath.

"I thought.....your horse had run away....with my needles!" she puffed. Then she made her way to the horse and retrieved her acupunture needles.

Wen Yiji stared at the girl in unmasked admiration. He thought that she was still good looking even when she was exhausted and out of breath.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

"North," Shi Mei replied. "I'm going north across the river to visit the family of my future in-laws."

"Oh," he said. "You have been betrothed?"

"Yes," she replied shyly.

Wen Yiji sighed silently. She had just proven the adage that “the best ones are taken”. True, she was a bit young for him, but nevertheless, he could not help feeling a tinge of regret at the news.

"I have just chartered a boat to go across the river. May I offer you a ride?" he asked.

"Thank you," she replied. "But I am sure that I can find my way across."

"Please do not stand on ceremony," he said. "This is the only boat operating. You may not be able to find another boat."

"In that case, I accept your offer, kind sir," she said. “You are going north too?”

“Eventually,” replied Wen Yiji. “But first I intend to go to the town of Qinghe in the northwest. I have some business to attend to there.”

“You must be a rice merchant,” guessed the young lass, looking at the sacks in the carriage.

“No, not rice,” laughed Wen Yiji. “I trade in potatoes. Those are Liufa potatoes I have in there. Ten sacks of them. I intend to sell them at two taels a sack.”

"Two taels a sack?" asked the girl in astonishment. "That is a high price to pay for potatoes."

"Ahhh....." Wen Yiji explained. "Liufa potatoes are not ordinary potatoes. They can benefit the human body in six ways. They detoxify the kidney, prevent dryness of the blood, relieve wind in the nose, clear the stomach fire, unblock the channels to the organs and release the muscles of the head.”

The boatman had tied his boat securely to the jetty. He looked at the carriage and said, “You will need several men to help you load the carriage to the deck of my boat.”

“The carriage is really very light,” remarked Wen Yiji. “If you will place your gangplank into position, I will roll the carriage down from the jetty to the boat.”

“On your own?” asked the boatman incredulously.

“Yes, on my own,” answered Wen Yiji confidently.

“It can’t be done, and I am talking from thirty years of experience,” said the boatman.

“Just lay down the gangplank in position, will you?” instructed Wen Yiji.

The boatman was still disbelieving, but nevertheless, he positioned the gangplank. Then he and the girl watched in amazement as Wen Yiji pulled the carriage onto the boat effortlessly and half lifted it to position it on deck. Once the carriage was in position, Wen Yiji shielded the horse’s eyes and led it on deck. He made the horse lie down and then he tied it up behind the carriage.

“Okay, we are set!” he announced.

“I am good with horses. I will help you calm the horse during the river crossing,” offered the young girl. Wen Yiji thanked her and she sat down beside the horse.

The boatman checked the level of the river water against the side of the boat and remarked, “That carriage and horse must be heavy. The boat is floating close to the danger mark. Any more weight and we won’t be able to cross this river safely.”

He pushed the boat off the jetty and then he settled down at the back of the boat to work the yuloh. Rowing with a rhythmic manner, he guided the boat away from the bank.

They had traveled some distance from the river bank when suddenly an old man ran up the jetty. Without pausing, the old man leapt high into the air. He floated down gently to the water and then treaded lightly on the water surface. That lifted him up into the air again and he landed onto the deck of the boat.

“That is amazing lightness kungfu,” thought Wen Yiji in awe. “This stranger must be a top kungfu master!”

“Hey,” shouted the boatman to the old man. “What are you doing?”

“I need to get across this river,” the old man explained. “I will make it worth your while to fetch me across.”

“This boat is already full. If you stay aboard, the boat may capsize in midstream where the current is stronger,” cried the boatman in shock. “You will have to take another boat!”

“There is no other boat,” said the old man simply.

“Then wait for the next trip,” suggested Wen Yiji.

“In this weather, the next trip could be tomorrow,” said the old man. “I am in a hurry.”

“Look. This boat is over laden. Basing on my thirty years of boat experience, there is no way we can make it across safely. If my boat capsizes, I will lose all that I have,” said the boatman. He pointed to Wen Yiji and continued, “Not only that, this gentleman here will also lose his horse and carriage!”

“That is right,” said Wen Yiji. “Since you are obviously an expert in lightness kungfu, why don’t you keep jumping toink toink toink on the river surface until you reach the other side?”

“I am unable to do that,” remarked the old man. “Lightness kungfu only works for a short limited period before I run out of lightness qi. The river is much too wide.”

“Well, I am not rowing this boat out to mid river and risk everything,” declared the boatman.

“I am willing to pay,” the old man said.

“I have chartered the entire boat,” remarked Wen Yiji. “You, sir, are trespassing.”

“I am not getting off this boat,” the old man remarked stubbornly.

“In that case, we will be here all day,” said the boatman in exasperation. The three men in the boat stared at each other.

“Let me offer a solution to this impasse, gentlemen,” the voice of the Shi Mei interrupted their thoughts.

“You have an idea?” asked Wen Yiji. He was already contemplating sending the old man overboard with a Dark Fire palm blast.

“Yes,” said the girl. “I think this old man weighs about as much as three sacks of potatoes. You are carrying ten sacks of potatoes on board. If he would be willing to buy three sacks of your potatoes, we can leave the three sacks at the river bank, and then the boat will be lightened enough take him across the river with us.”

“That is an acceptable idea to me,” said the old man.

“These are Liufa potatoes, not ordinary potatoes,” said Wen Yiji. “They detoxify the kidney, prevent dryness of the blood, relieve wind in the nose, clear the stomach fire, unblock the channels to the organs and release the muscles of the head. I can get six taels of silver for three sacks of potatoes. He may not be able to afford them.”

Without a word, the old man handed six taels of silver to Wen Yiji and asked, “Now where are my potatoes?”

Wen Yiji was surprised at the old man’s actions. He did a quick mental calculation. He had paid two taels for the ten sacks and now he was getting six taels. He had already turned a profit.

Smiling to himself, he thought, "I never knew that being a merchant was so easy. Just open the mouth a bit and then money comes rolling in. This must be what I was born to do. Better than fighting here and fighting there!"

"Well?" asked the old man again. "Where are my potatoes?"

Wen Yiji replied loftily, “Take any three sacks from the carriage. We will set them ashore for people to help themselves to them, since you obviously will not be able to take them along.”

The old man dragged out three sacks of potatoes from the carriage and asked, “They belong to me now, right?”

“Of course,” replied Wen Yiji.

“Wait a few moments while I row the boat towards the shore,” said the boatman.

“No need to waste time,” said the old man gruffly. Without warning, he threw all the three sacks of potatoes overboard.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

“What are you doing?” cried the young lass in horror. “There are people starving in the country!”

“So? They belong to me and I choose to feed the fishes with them,” the old man said gruffly. “Hey, are we moving or not?”

There was an uncomfortable silence and then the boatman sighed, "What's done is done!" He headed the boat out towards the other side of the Yellow River.

Wen Yiji was flabbergasted by the old man's act of wastage. It was not the right thing to do. However, the old man had paid for the three sacks and so it was within his right to throw them into the river.

They had not gone far when three horsemen rode up onto the jetty. The horsemen stared at the boat for a moment. Then, one of them pointed at the boat, gesticulated animatedly and exclaimed, "I see him, sifu! The Ghost Ninja is on that boat!"

"He is out of the range of my Devil Flute," said Chui La Pah. "But still within the range of arrows. Get ready your bows!"

The Ghost Ninja watched as both Blackface and Whiteface got off their horses and prepared their bows. A thought struck him, "If they start shooting indiscriminately, they may kill the other people on board. But if they can't see me, perhaps they will not be tempted to shoot." Without wasting a moment, he climbed into Wen Yiji's carriage and stayed out of sight.

“Hey! Boatman!” one of the horsemen shouted from the jetty. “Row over here! We want to talk to you!”

Wen Yiji could see that one of the horsemen had two flutes tucked in his waist band. He thought, "Two flutes. He must be a serious musician.”

The boatman ignored the horseman and continued his rowing, with his back towards the jetty. His boat could not take any more passengers and he had no wish to waste his time.

"What shall we do, sifu?" asked Blackface. "The Ghost Ninja has hidden himself and we are unable to aim at him."

"He thinks he has eluded us. Shoot the boatman!" Chui La Pah instructed. "In this swift river conditions, without a good boatman, maybe the boat will flounder and perhaps capsize. We will kill the ghost Ninja when he tries to swim ashore."

Blackface and Whiteface drew back their bows strongly. The next moment, two arrows hurtled through the air headed for the boatman. It was a long shot but the arrows were on track to their target. The boatman kept working the yuloh, completely unaware of the arrows heading for his back.

“Shit of a dog!” cursed Wen Yiji as he watched the arrows approaching fast.

The arrows had almost reached the boatman when Wen Yiji summoned his Dark Fire Internal energy, stepped up and deflected them away with a palm blast.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassst!

The arrows fell harmlessly into the water.

Splish! Splish!

Shi Mei, sitting by the horse, looked nonplussed. She sensed that they were in danger. The boatman turned his head, looked behind him and asked, “What was that?”

“Oh, nothing,” replied Wen Yiji nonchalently. “Nothing important.”

“Are you sure?” asked the boatman.

“Of course!” replied Wen Yiji. “If it was anything important, I would have told you. And do you mind rowing a lot faster? This boat is slower than a pregnant woman. Add oil!”

“The boat can’t go faster than this. And I am saying that from my extensive thirty years of experience!” retorted the boatman huffily.

Wen Yiji looked at the two bowmen on the jetty. They had reloaded their bows and were ready for the second volley. The man with the flutes, who was still astride his horse, turned to speak to the bowmen. "There is some interfering monkey on board who can somehow deflect the arrows away!"

"What do we do next, sifu?" asked Whiteface.

"You aim for the boatman while Blackface aim for the horse. He will not be able to stop two arrows at once. If we can get the horse to panic, it may stampede on board and maybe capsize the boat."

On board the boat, Wen Yiji saw that one of the bowmen had shifted his bow slightly.

“Two different targets,” thought Wen Yiji. “Wa piang. They are going for two different targets now to divide my attention! They are not totally idiots!”

The second volley of arrows sped through the air. Judging from the trajectory, Wen Yiji guessed at once what the targets were. “The boatman and the horse!” he cursed. He got ready. At the right moment, his left hand palm blasted the arrow that was headed towards the boatman and it fell into the water.

Splish!

At the same time, his right hand moved in a flash and caught the other arrow.

Whoooooossshhh!

Triumphantly, he held up the arrow and looked at the tip. It was coated with a greenish substance. He did not know what the substance was or why the archer was trying to kill the horse.

“Hey, I think those men at the jetty are shooting arrows at us!” said the girl, fully alert by now.

“What?” yelled the boatman. He looked at Wen Yiji holding the arrow and said in bewilderment, “I thought you said that it was nothing important!”

“Well,” said Wen Yiji. “It wasn’t important at first. They were only shooting at you, not me. But now that they are also shooting at my horse, the matter has become somewhat important. You will have to row a lot faster. I do not wish my horse to be killed.”

The boatman did not understand what in hell was happening. But he rowed like a thousand sharks were after him.

“That is more like it,” said Wen Yiji, pleased at the faster speed of the boat. “I bet that from your extensive thirty years of experience, you didn’t know that you can row this fast!”

“Watch out!” cried the girl. “More incoming arrows!”

The boatman rowed in panic while muttering curses at all and sundry.

“Relax,” said Wen Yiji nonchalantly. “We are already out of range.”

He was right. The arrows fell just short of the boat and landed into the water.

Splish! Splish!

After that, the two bowmen did not bother to reload their bows. They knew that they had been thwarted from their purpose.

“What do we do now, sifu?” asked Blackface.

“Whiteface, you will go to send a message by pigeon to the Green Scorpion Sect members across the river. Tell them to keep a sharp lookout for the Ghost Ninja. He was sitting inside a carriage on the boat, so tell our men that he could be travelling in a carriage. They are not to attempt to tackle the Ghost Ninja on their own, but wait for me. Blackface, you will come with me. We will look for another boat to cross the river.“

On the boat, Wen Yiji asked the boatman, “Do you have any idea why those men may want to kill you?”

The boatman stared into the distance at the men on the jetty. “No,” he replied. “It’s hard to be sure from this distance, but I don’t think that I even know them.”

Wen Yiji nodded and thought to himself. In the first volley, the bowmen had tried to kill the boatman. When that was not possible, one of them aimed for the horse, perhaps hoping to stampede the horse into capsizing the boat. It they had wanted to kill the boatman, they could have easily lain in wait for the boatman any other day to kill him on land. No, the boatman wasn’t the ultimate target. The girl and Wen Yiji wasn’t the target either or the bowmen would have aimed for them instead of the boatman in the first volley. That leaves the old man.

“So, that’s it!” thought Wen Yiji silently. “They wanted to prevent the old man from reaching the other side of the river! And they hoped to achieve that by killing off the boatman and leaving the boat floundering! No wonder the old man was in such a hurry to get across! He was trying to elude these men!”

The voice of the girl called out, “Sir, please be careful with that arrow you are holding. It could be tipped with poison! If you poked yourself with it accidentally, it would be really inconvenient.”

“You mean you would then have to suck the poison out of me?” he asked.

“No,” she replied. “I mean that I would then have to poke you in twenty places with my acupuncture needles to prevent the poison from spreading. But I don’t have that many needles with me.”

He laughed. He liked her.

“The correct method is to suck out the poison with your mouth,” laughed Wen Yiji.

“It is amazing that you can still laugh in such a situation,” noted the girl. “I have absolutely no experience in sucking.”

Wen Yiji looked at her lips. They were nice lips.

“Every girl should learn how to suck,” he muttered inaudibly. “You never know when it might come in useful.”

Shi Mei heard him. She thought that it was an odd thing to say. Carefully, she took the arrow from him to examine it. She looked at the arrow barb and sniffed it. “I was right,” she said. “I recognize this green stuff coating the barb. It is a kind of poison that causes a slow and painful death.”

"Let's get rid of it then," he said. He took the arrow from her and tossed it into the river.

“Do you think those men are bandits?” asked the nervous boatmen.

“No,” replied Wen Yiji. “If their purpose was robbery, they would have waited for prospective victims on land. I think their purpose was to prevent the boat from reaching the other shore.”

“But why?” asked the girl.

“I do not know,” admitted Wen Yiji. “But we have best be careful from now on. I hope that there are no more surprises waiting for us at the other shore.”

“Is the old man okay?” asked the boatman.

“I think so,” said the girl. “He was sitting inside the carriage.”

Wen Yiji walked to the front of the carriage and saw the old man inside.

“Admiring my potatoes?” he asked. "You want to buy another three more sacks?"

“No, but you don’t mind me resting inside your carriage, do you?” the old man said.

“Of course not,” replied Wen Yiji. “I see that you are making yourself comfortable here while I had to deal with a dicey situation.”

“Well, you certainly saved the situation today,” remarked the old man. “From the way you caught that arrow, I would say that you are no ordinary potato seller.”

“From the presence of those riders shooting at us, I would say that you are no ordinary traveler.”

“Are you suggesting that I have anything to do with this?”

“Let’s drop the pretence,” Wen Yiji remarked calmly. “You and I are both men from the martial underworld. I think we both know who those riders were really after. I do not wish to know why you had to get across the river in such a hurry. But I hope there are no more surprises waiting for me on the other side.”

“You don’t like surprises, I guess,” said the old man.

“I am a merchant and I don’t like trouble,” said Wen Yiji. “It’s bad for business.”

He looked at the old man meaningfully and then walked to the back of the boat.

“You had best not go back to that jetty today for the next few days.” he told the boatman. “Those men are ruthless. I know the type. There is always a chance that they may kill you without a good reason.”

“In my thirty years of experience, nobody has ever shot an arrow at me,” remarked the boatman. “It could be a case of mistaken identity. Maybe I look like somebody who owed them money.”

“I do not think that that was the reason," commented Shi Mei. "Had they killed you, they would not be able to recover whatever money they thought you owe them.”

“Based on my thirty years of experience, I think they merely want to frighten me into paying up what I don’t owe them,” said the boatman. “If I see them again, I will try to reason with them.”

“I wish you luck,” replied Wen Yiji. “But I will not place my faith in experience if I were you. Experience is what you get when you do not get what you want. And thirty years of experience is just one year of experience repeated twenty-nine times. I have already saved you twice. There may not be a third time."

He stared out at the waters of the Yellow River. A bone in his body told him that there could be more to come. He sighed wearily. Even as a merchant, he had to deal dangerous situations. He wished his life was boring and peaceful for a change. He looked up at the sky. A storm was approaching.

Chapter 6: The theories of Zheng Shi Mei

The boat reached the middle of the river where the current was strongest. Wen Yiji saw the floating carcasses of cows and pigs floating past them. The boat moved past a number of dead human bodies in the water and Shi Mei winced.

“Could be victims of some mishap upstream,” the boatman explained. “This is nothing. When the river overflows, lots of people die. We are at the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Here, the river is higher than the surrounding plains and it is the levees that hold the waters back. A serious breach in the river banks will be a major disaster. Lots of people will die. Lots! The Yellow River is the cradle of our civilization and is also our sorrow. But our lives are tied to it.”

Wen Yiji listened to the boatman without saying a thing. He had crossed the Yellow River before. A long time ago, his departed younger brother, Yituo, wanted to sit for his Imperial Civil Service Exams. He was a good scholar and the whole family was excited over the possibility of him doing well scholastically. To prepare him, his parents had planned to send him to a school for proper tuition. However, schools in the Imperial Capital were prohibitively expensive. So, they decided to send Yituo to Chingnan where there was a good school and where the fees were much more affordable. Yiji had accompanied his parents and Yituo on their journey to Chingnan. During the river crossing, a woman had fallen off the overcrowded boat. Yiji had jumped into the water to save her. He remembered that the water was cold.

It rained softly just before the boat reached the opposite shore. Storm clouds were gathering in the sky. Even before the boat had reached the shore, the old man had leapt off the boat. Using lightness kungfu, he treaded once on the surface of the water and landed on the levee lining the river. Then the old man walked off without a backward glance. Wen Yiji stared hard at his retreating back.

The boatman tied the boat to a rickety jetty which seemed to be located in the middle of nowhere. There were very few houses around the area. Wen Yiji first led the horse off the boat. The girl was a big help. She held the reins of the horse in the tiny drizzle while Wen Yiji got the carriage off the boat’s deck. Then she handed the horse to Wen Yiji and said her goodbyes.

“I am heading to the nearest town,” he said. “Would you like a lift in my carriage?”

The girl shook her head and said, “It is not appropriate for a man and a woman to be travelling together. I thank you for your kind offer.”

With that, she walked off down the road. The rain poured down strongly and she had to rush for shelter under the nearest tree.

Wen Yiji hitched the carriage to the horse and then set off. The protruding roof only just barely kept the driver's position dry. He headed towards the tree where the girl was taking shelter and shouted, “A severe storm is approaching. You will catch a very bad cold if you attempt to walk in this rain. Besides, it is better to get out of here in case the river floods. If you die, you will definitely regret standing there. I suggest that you forget your sense of propriety and take a ride in my sheltered carriage!”

The girl nodded, and then climbed gratefully into Wen Yiji’s carriage. She was already half wet from the miserable weather. He clucked his mouth and the horse moved forward again. Some distance along the road, they passed by the old man taking shelter under another tree. Wen Yiji did not bother to stop for him.

“Are you going to leave the old man standing there in the storm?” asked the girl.

“Why not?” he asked. “I see no reason why I should give him a lift. He came to the boat without saying “please” and he left the boat without saying “thank you”. He has the manners of a buffalo.”

“But there is still room inside this carriage,” she said. “And the storm is getting heavier.”

“Oh, all right,” he relented. He stopped the carriage and called out to the old man. “Hey, old man! If you want a lift, you can come inside my carriage.”

The old man needed no second invitation. He leapt into the air, then turned in midair and flipped into the carriage swiftly like a spirit.

“I did not know that it was possible to move like that!” said Shi Mei in admiration.

“It is called lightness kungfu,” the old man said.

“I have seen lightness kungfu before, but not in the manner that you have displayed,” said the girl. “While we are all travelling in the same carriage, perhaps we should introduce ourselves.”

“It is not necessary,” said the old man. “We will be together only for a short time. Why burden ourselves trying to remember names? Just call me ‘Old Man’ and I shall call you ‘Young Girl’, and we can call the driver ‘Potato Seller’.”

“Suits me,” agreed Wen Yiji. He had little wish to know the old man better. “Perhaps it would be more descriptively accurate if you call me lengchai.”

“Is that your name?” asked the girl.

“No,” replied Wen Yiji. “But that is what some people call me.”

The road on the stormy plain soon turned into a path of mud in the driving rain. The going was slow for the carriage.

“The main road turns muddy in the rain,” said the old man. “We will be stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere by nightfall. I have traveled these parts many times and I know an alternative route that we can take. It may not be faster, but at least, it will not be so muddy.”

“All right,” said Wen Yiji. “Direct me the way.”

The old man directed the way to a small path and it was surprisingly easier to travel. The rain abated and by evening, they came across an abandoned temple near the edge of a small lake. They decided to take refuge in the temple which still had three standing walls and a partial roof. Although the rain had stopped, the ground was still wet.

“We will have to make a fire,” said Wen Yiji. “I have some rice and lots of potatoes so food should not be a problem.”

“Potatoes?” asked the old man. “I much prefer duck.”

“You don’t ask for much, do you?” said Wen Yiji in irritation. “I could shoot those ducks at the lake, but they will fall into the muddy water and I do not fancy swimming out to retrieve them.”

“If you can shoot them, I can retrieve them,” said the old man.

“Is that right?”

“Yes!”

“Well if I shoot a duck and you can’t retrieve it, it will be a waste of a good duck.”

“Can you shoot it in the first place?” asked the old man with a measure of doubt in his tone.

“Of course I can!” answered Yiji indignantly.

“Yeah…..right.”

“Let’s settle this once and for all, Old Man.”

“I am ready if you are, Potato Seller.”

“The one who does not do what he is supposed to do is a tortoise egg and has to borrow Young Girl's underwear and wear it over his head all evening! Do you agree?”

“Agreed!” replied the Ghost Ninja. “The challenge is on!”

"Hey! Leave my underwear out of this!" exclaimed a shocked Shi Mei.

However, Wen Yiji had already grabbed his bow and arrows and walked down to the edge of the little lake followed by the old man. Shi Mei followed behind. There were ducks among the rushes growing in the middle of the lake. Wen Yi loaded his bow with an arrow and waited. The ducks were at least a hundred and fifty steps from the shore.

The old man took a stone and threw it into the water.

Plop!

The ducks looked up.

Then one bloody stupid duck flew up into the air for no logical reason and Wen Yiji shot off an arrow.

Whooooooooosh.

He was accurate as usual.

“Quack, quack, quack...........ahaiks!”

The old man ran to the water as the duck was shot in the air. He skimmed the water surface with his lightness kungfu and raced towards the falling duck.

The duck hit the water.

Splash!

The old man scooped up the duck with one hand as he raced past the spot. A number of ducks panicked on seeing the old man skimming by and they flew into the air flapping their wings violently. Still skimming the water surface, the old man turned to head towards the shore.

"I’ve shot another one!” yelled Wen Yiji from the shore.

The old man turned his head and saw a second duck drop to the water.

Splash!

He treaded on a reed growing out of the water and changed his direction. Moving to the second duck, he picked it up with a smooth motion and then moved to the shore, skimming the water surface easily with his lightness kungfu.

Shi Mei clapped her hands in appreciation and remarked enthusiastically, “I’ve never seen such a wonderful display!”

“You mean the great shooting?” asked Wen Yiji beaming with pride.

“I mean the great partnership,” replied the girl, smiling. She was happy that nobody was borrowing her underwear to wear over the head.

The old man walked towards them holding up both ducks triumphantly.

“Great retrieval,” remarked Wen Yiji with grudging admiration.

“The shooting wasn’t bad,” admitted the old man, smiling. “Now that you have shot the ducks and I have retrieved them, I think it should be the turn of Young Girl to cook them.”

“Oh……I can’t cook ducks,” said Shi Mei slowly.

The two men stared at her in silence.

“I never did learn how to cook ducks,” she said in embarrassment.

“Don’t worry,” said Wen Yiji. “I can do it.”

“You can?” asked the old man disbelievingly.

“Of course!” replied Wen Yiji. “My sister runs a duck restaurant and I have learnt a thing or two about ducks. We will do it herbal style. Young Girl can take care of the fire and cook the rice for us.”

“Good,” said the old man. “I have a pot of wine that we can share after dinner.”

Wen Yiji outdid himself. The herbal duck turned out excellently and his two fellow travelers were ecstatic.

“This is the best duck I have ever tasted,” declared the girl.

“Not bad,” said the old man. “If you were a woman, you would surely make a great housewife.”

Wen Yiji ignored the remark and demanded, “I thought we were going to partake of your pot of wine.”

“Oh, that’s right,” replied the old man. He brought out his pot of wine and they each took a swig from it. In the cold wet weather, it warmed them up considerably.

“This is good wine,” remarked Wen Yiji appreciatively.

He told the girl, “You can sleep in my carriage tonight, Young Girl. Old Man and I will sleep on the ground.”

“Thank you,” said the young girl. “I do not know how I can thank you for your kindness.”

“Please do not be formal,” said Yiji. “We are travelers on the same journey.”

“Well, I hope I am able to sleep tonight on the ground,” declared the old man. “I have not been able to enjoy a good night’s sleep for the past twenty years. And as I grow older, the problem becomes annoyingly worse.”

“It is old age,” commented Wen Yiji. “As one grows older, sleep becomes more uncomfortable because the flesh get harder. Like an old chicken. Everything gets hard except where it is supposed to get hard.”

The old man ignored the comment, drank some more wine and started to recite some poetry.

“Sleep is like the secret lover

That visits when we are unaware

And makes us infants once more

With each new sun in the east.

The beauty of the night is lost

If sleep holds me not

Even the unicorn does not impress

When the eye sees without stopping”

Wen Yiji stared at him open mouthed.

"What do you think of my poetry," asked the old man.

"You want to hear something polite or you want to hear the truth?" asked Wen Yiji.

"The truth, of course!" answered the old man. “Let’s keep it real.”

“Well, if you don’t mind my saying so, that was the most horrendous piece of poetry that I have ever heard. It was boring..…..so atrociously boring that even the mosquitoes will slumber. I was expecting something better.”

"I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all," said the old man. Then he challenged Yiji, “Do you think that you do much better?”

“Of course!” replied Wen Yiji, taking up the challenge. "I anyhow compose also can do better than that!"

“Really?” asked the old man. "Let your horse come."

“I have composed a very good poem about two goats and a monkey that thought it was a goat,” said Wen Yiji.

“Wait!” said Shi Mei. “If this is a poetic challenge, then you have to keep to the theme.”

“What is the theme?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Sleep,” replied the old man. “Your poetry must involve the topic of sleep.”

“That does not constitute a problem,” said Wen Yiji.

He cleared his throat and then recited;

"The clever man knows that his bed

Is not just there for him to sleep

It is the place for getting laid

For pushing hard and driving deep

A few quick gropes, all sleep depart

And lovers join by candlelight

So let the pounding action start

Tomorrows babies begin tonight!”

His audience stared agog at him. Shi Mei suppressed a giggle and looked down on the ground.

“That was crude......a total mess......and you have embarrassed our young friend,” noted the old man.

"I thought I did okay," retorted Wen Yiji, "Despite the fact that I have no professional training at all."

"Obviously," remarked the old man.

“Actually, I thought it was rather good,” said the girl. "There is originality and a naked honesty in your composition. You have taken an idea and then tried to make it your own. This is what poetry is all about.”

“I thought it lacked class,” said the old man. “It was so coarse that it would shame an earthworm.”

“Perhaps what this country needs is a national poetry competition so that you two can compete,” said Shi Mei. “When I was young, I had this idea of people competing in front of three judges. The judges will pass comments on what they think about the poetry. Then the audience will be allowed to vote for whom they like. I called it ‘Poetry Idol’.”

The two men stared at her. Finally the old man asked, “Where do you get such a strange idea from? It will never work. Trust me.”

“Maybe not now,” said Shi Mei. “But one good day, someone will pick up my idea and turn it into something successful.”

“Why don’t you recite poetry for us to hear,” challenged Yiji.

“That is right,” said the old man. “Come on, recite something.”

“All right,” replied the girl. “I will recite a poem about two porcupines.”

“It has to be about sleep,” said Wen Yiji. “That is the theme!”

“This poetry is entitled “Two porcupines sleeping in the same hole too small for both of them” and I will be doing it limerick-style,” she said.

“What on earth is a limerick?” asked Wen Yiji, baffled.

“It is a way of doing poetry that I thought of,” replied Shi Mei. “There will come a day when people will create poetry this way."

“Enough talk,” said the old man. “Let’s hear your “Two porcupines sleeping in the same hole too small for both of them” limerick.”

Shim Mei took in a deep breath and then recited;

“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Ouch ouch ouch!

Ouch ouch ouch!

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”

The two men stared at Shi Mei open mouthed. They had not expected such nonsense to come out from such a pretty girl.

“Any comments?” asked the girl.

The men were silent; too nonplussed to even comment.

“No negative comments?” asked Shi Mei. “In that case, I win!”

“No way!” protested the old man.

“Not by a long shot!”” added Wen Yiji.

“If you ask me, this limerick thing is totally idiotic!” added the old man.

The three of them argued enthusiastically in between sips of wine. They continued with their drinking until it was time to sleep.

“This ground is hard,” commented the old man. “I know that I won’t be able to get any sleep tonight. If I can’t even sleep well in a warm bed, I don’t see how I can sleep on the cold ground.”

“Is your sleep problem serious?” asked the girl.

“Yes,” replied the old man. “I don’t know what the matter with me is. I would give the world for a good night’s sleep.”

“You could be suffering from Aids,” suggested the girl.

“What on earth is Aids?” the old man asked.

“Ass is damn slow,” explained Wen Yiji.

“No!” laughed the girl. “That was for horses! This one is something else.”

“Well, what is it then?” asked the old man.

“An increasingly decreasing sleep,” replied the girl simply.

“Increasing or decreasing?” inquired the old man.

“Increasingly decreasing,” repeated the girl.

“Will I die?” the old man asked.

“Eventually,” replied Wen Yiji unsympathetically. “Wa lau eh......you may even die awake!”

The old man ignored him and asked the girl, “Can it be cured?”

“I doubt if it can totally go away,” she answered. “But I can stick some needles in you to give you a good night of rest tonight.”

“Stick needles inside me?” the old man laughed. “That will not work!”

“Trust me. I can make you go into a deep sleep. My father was a brilliant daifu and he was a genius in acupuncture,” she assured him. “I have learnt many useful tricks from him.”

“She will poke needles in your ass,” said Wen Yiji helpfully as he held up three fingers and counted. “Three needles. One, two, three.”

“No, sir,” laughed the girl. “That was for horses!”

“What will be the effect if you poke me with your needles?” asked the old man.

Before the girl could reply, Wen Yiji replied on her behalf, “You will neigh and gallop wildly in your sleep. I have seen the effects of her needles. Trust me.”

The girl sighed, “That was for horses, Potato Seller. I’ll be using different acupuncture points for the old man.”

“I am desperate for a good nights sleep so I will do whatever it takes,” said the old man. “Come on, Young Girl, poke me.”

“Go on, girl,” said Wen Yiji encouragingly. “Don’t hold back. Stick all your needles in him.”

With liquid movements, the girl stuck her acupuncture needles in the old man in several places before he could finish two breaths. It was over suddenly.

“I don’t feel anything much,” remarked the old man. “Maybe you should remove the needles.”

“Your flesh is probably insensitive or dead,” remarked Wen Yiji. “Let me tell about what happened to a friend of mine. He was very old. Once upon a time......”

Before Wen Yiji could finish his sentence, the old man flopped over and slept.

“Well, I’ll be damned!” exclaimed the younger man. “The needles worked! They actually worked!”

“Of course!” laughed Young Girl triumphantly. “They always work!”

They left the old man to sleep while they chatted.

“The stars have come out,” said Wen Yiji, looking at the sky through the broken roof.

Shi Mei looked. She counted seven stars. She remembered seeing stars on the night that her father died. Since then she had not laughed at all. But tonight, she did laugh. In the presence of two complete strangers, she had regain part of her usual cheerfulness.

“They say that if you are a good man, the stars will always shine for you,” said Wen Yiji.

Shi Mei nodded silently. She was happy to see the stars. Together, Yiji and Shi Mei chatted comfortably like old friends as they drank the old man’s wine until it was finished. Then they went to sleep.

+ + + + +

It was mid morning when the old man woke up.

“It’s about time,” remarked Wen Yiji. “We were going to leave you here to sleep till next year.”

The old man yawned, stretched his arms and looked around him. “I have not had such a good sleep in years! Heavens, that was great! If I die now, I will still be happy.”

“What I did was to remove an energy imbalance in your body,” said Shi Mei. “You should be able to sleep soundly from now on for the next month at least.”

“Thank you,” said the old man. “I am eternally in your debt.”

“You have not paid the lady doctor the bill yet,” remarked Wen Yiji in jest. “This kind of treatment is very rare. Got money also cannot buy. The least you can do is to offer some kind of payment.”

“Oh,” smiled the old man. “Of course! I should pay Young Girl something. What is the charge?”

“Never mind,” Shi Mei replied. “I don’t want your money.”

“Surely I can pay you something,” persisted the old man.

“I know!” said the girl. “I love the way that you run across the water and jump here and there. Can you teach me how to do it?”

The old man paused before saying, “This kind of movement requires some kind of internal energy. I do not think that you have that in you.”

“Wa lau eh,” remarked Wen Yiji with a hint of sarcasm. “People ask you for payment and you start making excuses. If you cannot pay, then why you ask?”

The old man ignored Wen Yiji’s sarcasm and addressed the girl, “I can impart to you The Way of the Water Spider. It will allow you to execute some neat moves horizontally. But since you don’t have internal energy, you will feel a little drained and tired after using it.”

“I will be happy to learn,” said Zheng Shi Mei in a grateful tone.

“Sit down on the ground,” he said to her.

She did as was instructed.

He then sat down behind her and placed his palms on her shoulder blades. For a while, they did not move. Smoke came out from the top of her head. After a while he removed his palms and said, “There, it is done.”

“What happened?” asked the girl.

“I don’t know,” answered Wen Yiji. “I saw smoke rising up from the top of your head. Do you feel any great heat inside you?”

“No,” she answered. “Just a slight warmth. No great heat.”

“Good,” remarked Wen Yiji. “It is a relief to know that. The smoke had me worried for a while. I thought he was trying to cook you internally.”

They both stared at him.

“You are awesome!” said the old man to Wen Yiji. “You can even think up an illogical comment like that! You are really ‘no can block’.”

Shi Mei laughed out loud. “I don’t feel any different so I guess that whatever Old Man was trying to do did not work. But thanks for the effort anyway.”

“Who says it did not work? Here,” called the old man. “Come with me to the water’s edge and do as I do.”

Wen Yiji ignored them both and started preparing his horse and carriage for the day’s journey. He heard an excited shout from the girl and so he turned his head to look. The old man and the girl were skimming across the water. They came back to the carriage smiling.

“It worked! It worked!” she cried excitedly to Wen Yiji. “I used to run faster than the boys in my village. And now, I am even faster than before! And I can skim the water surface too!”

“The Way of the Water Spider technique is good for fast horizontal movement,” reminded the old man. “Since you do not have lightness kungfu, it will drain your energies and you will feel exhausted afterwards. Also, you will not be able to leap high over trees. That will be in the realm of lightness kungfu.”

“It is all right,” smiled the girl. “I am happy with horizontal movement. Thank you very much, Old Man. And you are right. My legs are feeling tired now.”

Wen Yiji looked at Shi Mei. A lascivious thought entered his head involving hoizontal movements with her in bed. Rebuking himself for harbouring such a thought, he grumbled, “All right, everybody aboard. Let’s go! Chop chop!”

+ + + + + +

In the morning, the boatman was at his usual place at the jetty. His thirty years of experience told him that it was safe to do so. Two men rode up to the jetty and demanded that he fetch them across the river. He rowed them across with their horses.

As they disembarked, one of them with a dark face asked, “Boatman, yesterday afternoon, you fetched a horse and carriage across. There was an old man aboard. Which way did the old man go?”

“Yesterday? Ah, yes......I remember that trip,” replied the boatman. “It was rather strange. A man with a carriage booked my boat. Then a girl came and he allowed her to get on board. Then an old man came along and he also wanted to cross. From my thirty years of experience, I knew that the boat was over laden. So I refused to row. There was an argument and finally, one of them threw three bags of potatoes into the river so that the boat would not be too heavy.”

“You still haven’t told us where the old man went,” said the dark-faced man, Blackface.

“Oh, he went that way,” pointed the boatman. “Probably to Gaotang. He jumped off the boat before I could even dock. Must be in a hurry. You know what was really weird? As I was rowing the boat, three horsemen arrived at the jetty and then two of the idiots shot arrows at the boat.”

“Do you recognize the two idiots?” asked the dark-faced man, Blackface.

“No, I don’t,” said the boatman. “I was not that close to see their faces properly. Based on my thirty years of experience, I will say that they must be retarded. Simply shoot at people. Luckily, their arrows did not hit me., Or I would have turned back the boat and stuff the arrows up their asses. And then twist the arrows to stir the clumps of shit in their backsides. Stupid inbred sons of pigs.”

"You should not call them stupid," said the Flute Master coldly.

"You are right," said the boatman. "They are not stupid.....they are retarded."

“Sifu, this boatman call us retarded,” said Blackface to his master.

“Beat him up,” ordered the other man, the Flute Master. “Make it quick. I want to reach Gaotang by nightfall.”

Chui La Pah left the boat while Blackface advanced on the boatman. The boatman sensed danger, and quickly took out an axe.

“Put down the axe,” ordered Blackface. “I am going to beat you up so don’t waste my time with the axe.”

“Why do you wish to beat me up?” asked the boatman. “I have done nothing to you.”

“My sifu does not like your face,” replied Blackface. “Now take your beating like a man.”

“You will find that I am not easy to bully,” snarled the boatman. “I have the Praying Mantis Holding Big Axe kungfu. And thirty years of fighting experience.”

The fight was short and bloody. Soon, Blackface joined the Flute Master on land.

“What took you so long?” asked Chui La Pah.

“I bashed his head,” replied Blackface. “That took a bit of time.”

“You bashed only his head?”

“Yes,” answered Blackface. “But I repeated it twenty nine times.”

The Flute Master and his disciple rode hard, pushing their horses to the limit. However, the going was difficult because of the light constant drizzle and they did not manage to reach Gaotang by nightfall.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji and his travelling companions had already entered Gaotang by late afternoon and had decided to stay in one of the inns there for the night.

As they sat around a dinner table together that evening, the Ghost Ninja offered, “Since it was you Potato Seller who cooked the ducks and Young Girl who cooked the rice last night, let me be the one to pay for dinner tonight!”

“Thank you,” said Wen Yiji. “Let us order something other than duck!”

While waiting for their food to arrive, a flash of lightning lit up the inside of the inn followed by the sound of a loud thunderclap.

"Notice that you always see the flash of light first before you hear the thunder and not the other way around," remarked Wen Yiji.

"That is because light travels faster than sound," explained Shi Mei. "Both the lightning and the thunder are produce at the same time by the natural phenomena. The light just reaches us first."

"Where do you get such an odd idea?" asked the Ghost Ninja. "Everyone knows that the God of Thunder makes the sound and the God of the Lightning makes the flash."

"Yes, and the two Gods are twins. That is why they always occur together," explained Wen Yiji. "The God of Thunder was born first and therefore the elder of the twins. However, he always allows the younger twin to create the flash of light first. Give chance a bit, see? That is why we always see the light flash first."

"I am telling you that light travels faster than sound," insisted Shi Mei. "How else can you explain why sometimes the time gap between the thunder and lightning is small and at other times it is large?"

"Tired light," explained the old man. "Sometimes the God of the Light Flash is tired and so he throws a light that arrives more slowly. I am waiting for the day when the light is so slow that we will hear the thunder first before seeing the flash."

"That day will never come," claimed Wen Yiji. "Those Gods are not only twins. They are identical twins. If one gets tired, the other also gets tired. So the slow light will still arrive earlier than the slow thunder. See?"

"There is no such thing as slow light," insisted Shi Mei. "The speed of light is absolute. It will never slow down. Never."

"Your theory is full of holes," said Wen Yiji. “Everything slows down at some time or another.”

"Light is different. Its speed is not relative to anything. I sometimes get flashes of insight on how the laws of nature work," she answered. "A day will come when people will understand such theories."

"Yeah......right!" interjected the old man.

"You two do not believe me, do you?” asked Shi Mei. “I guess that now would not be a good time for me to tell you about my recently discovered Theory of Relativity."

"I don't know about your theory, but I have my own Theory of Relativity as well," said Wen Yiji. "For instance, my theory says that when your money runs out and you need help, your relatives will suddenly disappear."

"I have one too," said the old man. "Relatives are like monkeys......they don't look like you and yet they expect you to give them peanuts."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said WenYiji. "I did not realize that you were related to monkeys. You have my deepest sympathies. Wa piang......si beh cham, leh. But don't worry! I am very broadminded and am not one of those who would treat you like a lesser subspecies. Here, let me order something delicious just for you. "

He then shouted at a passing waiter, "Hey waiter! Bring me a bunch of bananas for this .....er....thing!"

"Will you stop embarrassing yourself?" requested the old man in an exasperated tone. "We are trying to discuss the Theory of Relatives here!"

"I was talking about Relativity, not Relatives," remarked Shi Mei. "But if you must know, we all descended from monkeys. I have this theory that monkeys learned to walk upright and then developed into humans. I call this the Theory of Evolution."

Wen Yiji stared at her for a few moments before laughing, "Hahahahaha! For a young girl, you certainly have a lot of theories!"

"That is the problem," lamented Shi Mei. "I am a woman and people are not willing to treat me seriously. They only know how to make retarded jokes about us leaking like a roof once a month. One day, some man will copy my theory and announce it to the world, and people will believe him. Just because he is a man."

"I empathize with you," remarked Wen Yiji. "But let's debate your Theory of Evolution. If your theory is true, then we should be able to see the monkeys at some balanced point stage of development. Like a half-man half-monkey breed."

"That is right," Shi Mei concurred. "It is the biological 'Missing Link' that I need to prove my theory is correct!"

Wen Yiji looked thoughtful and then asked, "Would someone who looks almost like a human but has monkey relatives be what you call a 'missing link'?"

Both he and the girl scrutinized the old man closely.

"Hey......stop that!" cried the old man.

The claypot spareribs cooked with beancurd arrived.

It was followed by the rest of the other dishes and all further debate was suspended.

While they were eating, a thin dark man who was seated at the other end of the room, quietly pulled out a drawing from his clothes and examined it. He looked at the old man across the room before muttering to himself, "Yes......that is the Ghost Ninja seated there!" The thin dark member of the Green Scorpion Sect put away his drawing and continued drinking his wine.

+ + + + + +

The next morning, Wen Yiji met Shi Mei and the old man for breakfast.

"Did you sleep well this time?" asked Shi Mei to he old man.

"Yes," replied the old man. "I had a really good sleep even without the acupuncture needles. I can die now and still be happy."

“Early, early morning and you go and talk about death,” remarked Wen Yiji. “Aren’t your scared that a passing itchy ‘cow head horse face’ devil will suddenly pull you into Hell?”

“Hell does not scare me,” declared the old man. “Everybody dies at some stage or another. What I am more concerned about is that the denizens of Hell should respect me.”

Shi Mei kept quiet. Her father’s passing was too recent and she did not like to be reminded of death. She ate her breakfast silently.

After breakfast, Wen Yiji said, "I am heading northwest for Qinghe. You are welcome to travel in my carriage if we are going the same route. At least my carriage will keep you both dry if it rains."

"Thank you, Potato Seller," said Shi Mei. "I am going north to Dezhou. As we are not travelling in the same direction, I will take my leave of you now."

"I am not going as far as Qinghe," said the old man. "But we are going the same route. Halfway between here and Qinghe, there is a place where I wish to go. If you will give me a lift there, I shall be grateful."

"All right," said Wen Yiji. "We will say goodbye to Young Girl here."

"Take good care of yourself, Young Girl," said the old man. "In case you meet any bad people, use the Way of the Water Spider that I taught you. Its quick darting movements will help you to evade them."

"Try not to mention your fanciful theories of light and evolution to the family of your betrothed," advised Yiji. "If we can't understand them, then I don't think they can either. They may think that a spirit has entered your head. Then they will take you to a temple and make you drink holy water everyday."

"He is right," said the old man. "If you do not wish to drink holy water, you can evade the priests by using the Way of the Water Spider that I taught you!"

"Hahaha!" laughed Shi Mei. "Don't worry, you two. I will be able to take care of myself. If fate permits us to meet again, then I shall toast each one of you three bowls of wine."

She said goodbye to the two men and headed north. She was sad to be leaving them. True, they were the most unusual travelling companions, but she never felt threatened by their presence. The weather looked good as she walked along the road. Idly, she wondered if her future husband would be as interesting as Wen Yiji.

"Nice girl," remarked the old man. "And she has such lovely eyes."

"Really?" asked Wen Yiji looking at her retreating ass. "I had not noticed."

"That is what you say," remarked the old man. "You noticed all right. A girl like that does not come by every year. Don't fret just because she is marrying someone else."

"I am not fretting!" insisted Wen Yi Ji.

However, they both knew that he was fretting.

As Wen Yij and the old man travelled in the carriage along the road to Qinghe, the thin dark man from the Green Scorpion Sect watched them go. He noted the direction that they took and then he proceeded to the center of town to wait for his chief.

It was mid morning before Chui La Pah and Blackface rode into town. The thin dark man met them and said, "Greetings, Chief. I have news on the one you seek."

"Where is he?" asked Chui La Pah anxiously.

"On the road towards Qinghe," the thin dark man replied. "He is travelling inside a carriage with some other man. They left only this morning. If you ride fast, you may catch up with the carriage later today."

"How would we know which carriage he is in?" asked Blackface.

"It should not be too difficult," replied the man. "The rain has washed away all the previous wheel tracks. Because of the rainy weather, not many carriages are on the road. I think if you check the road, you will find only one set of fresh wheel tracks heading towards Qinghe. It should be easy enough to follow."

The man led them to the road to Qinghe and pointed out the carriage tracks.

"Very good!" said Chui La Pah, pleased. "You have done well."

He tossed a bag of money to the man before he and Blackface rode teir horses fast along the road, following the wheel tracks.

The weather was fine and the carriage was travelling quicker than it had been the previous days. It came to an intersection and the old man said, "You may drop me off here."

"The road here is still muddy and unpleasant for walking," remarked Wen Yiji. "Since I have taken you this far, I may as well take you all the way. Just show me the route to the house you wish to go and my carriage will take you there."

"I am visiting the grave of a friend," said the Ghost Ninja.

"No problem, Old Man. Just show me the way."

The old man directed the way to a path which soon narrowed. They came to a house at the end of the path.

"I thought you said that you were visiting a grave," remarked Yiji. "This is a house."

"The grave is on the other side of the hill behind the house," said the man. "I stay in the house each time I come here."

"In that case, I shall say my goodbye here, Old Man. It was interesting meeting you."

"Same here. Despite having to put up with your obnoxious comments now and then, I must say that you are a great travelling companion! I wish you luck in selling off your potatoes."

"You want to buy some more potatoes?"

"No. Thank you."

“Cheap, cheap?”

"No. Thank you."

"All right then. Goodbye, Old Man."

"Goodbye, Potato Seller. I shall always remember your herbal ducks."

The old man walked up the footpath to the door of the house. Wen Yiji turned his carriage around. He got onto the carriage and was about to urge the horse forward when he heard a noise.

POOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

The next moment, the body of the old man hurtled in the air past him before landing in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Quickly, Wen Yiji rushed to the side of the old man and asked him, "What happened, Old Man?"

The old man was bleeding from the mouth as he spoke weakly, "Sum....Cheong. Wants to......kill......me."

Wen Yiji's face hardened as he spoke, "No one will kill you while I am here! I will go and change the mind of this Sum Cheong.....forcibly!"

"You....can't defeat.....him," gasped the old man. "He....has the.....Buddha Palm....... No equal....under Heaven....."

Wen Yiji froze. He had heard of the Buddha Palm. It was the most powerful iron palm kungfu ever known, and reputed to have no equal under Heaven.

Weakly, the old man took a book from inside his sleeve and slipped it into the clothes of Wen Yiji. "Run!" he gasped.

"What's that?" asked the surprised Wen Yiji.

"My Manual of Invisibility....take it....." gasped the dying old man. "Quick.....run!"

Chapter 7: No Equal Under Heaven

A voice from the house floated out to Wen Yiji, “Is that old bastard still alive?”

Wen Yiji looked in the direction of the house. A bald stocky man was walking out of the door.

“Please do not call him a bastard,” said Wen Yiji. “The fact that he can be a bastard does not give you the right to call him one.”

“Who the hell are you?” snarled Sun Cheong, the stocky man.

“Who I am is not important. I am merely a potato seller, but an educated one. Even I know that it is not right to bully a helpless old man.”

“Sun…..Cheong…..” gasped the old man. “What’s between us……is….between us. Spare……this man……”

“No, Ghost Ninja,” said Sun Cheong. “I have to kill anybody connected with you.”

“You talk ahh…..” retorted Wen Yiji. “You think killing me is that easy ahh....and why do you call this old man a Ghost?”

“This old bastard is called the Ghost Ninja. He was once a ruthless assassin. Too bad that you got mixed up with him. The day of your death has arrived. You should have been more careful about the company you keep."

“I will not go to my death without knowing why both of us have to die. At least, give us a reason.”

“The reason is simple; the one I serve wants the Ghost Ninja to disappear from this earth.”

“And who is the one you serve?”

“Someone from the royal family. You need not know who.”

“If you do not tell me who, I will become a dissatisfied ghost and come back to haunt you after I die. Every night, I will give you nightmares while you sleep. Even the one you serve will not be able to save you both from my wrath.”

“The one I serve is a royal concubine and she will hire a taoist master to capture your spirit and imprison it inside a pot filled with dog blood!”

“A royal concubine?” asked Wen Yiji, mystified. He turned to the old man on the ground and asked, “Hey, old man! Have you been doing any funny business with any of the royal concubines?”

“Noooo…….” gasped the old man.

“I believe you. You look too old for that sort of thing. This hairless thing here must be mistaken.”

“No mistake,” said Sun Cheong. “Concubine Lin’s orders were clear. I am to terminate the Ghost Ninja.”

"Oooooooohhh.......Concubine Lin!" exclaimed Yiji. "So that's her name! The Emperor has so many concubines. How the heck are we to know which Concubine Lin you are talking about?"

"That is not for you to know. Dead men know so much for what?'

"Is she the one whom all the stableboys in the palace nicknamed 'tai lup Lin'?"

"Shut up! You are a commoner and you have no knowledge about the royal family. Don't even try to guess."

"Wait a minute......she could be the other one....the one whom the eunuchs nicknamed 'tai sai Lin'! I bet that when you talk to her, you stare at her chest all the time!"

Sun Cheong turned livid. He snarled, "You have a dirty mouth! I will break your hands and legs first before killing you!"

"Oh yeah?" retorted Wen Yiji. "Many men have tried to kill me and all have failed."

"I am the master of the Buddha Palm kungfu. I have no equal under Heaven. Consider it your misfortune to have met me today."

"Do not be so arrogant. There is always a higher mountain."

"Hahaha! You do not seem to know anything! There is no higher mountain than the Buddha Palm!” laughed Sun Cheong. “I saw the Ghost Ninja handing something to you. If my guess is correct, then it must be his Manual of Invisibility. Hand it over to me.”

“Invisibility? Is this some kind of sick joke? There is no such thing as invisibility! A grown man like you should be ashamed of yourself for believing in such a ridiculous concept.”

"Shut up! Just hand over the manual."

"Listen," said Wen Yi Ji. "I am going to make you an offer. If you apologize to this old man, and agree not to harm him ever again, I will sell you my Liufa potatoes at a discount."

"Liufa potatoes?"

"Yes, Liufa potatoes. They detoxify the kidney, prevent dryness of the blood, relieve wind in the nose, clear the stomach fire, unblock the channels to the organs and release the muscles of the head.”

“I am not interested."

"Yes you are. You need to release the muscles of your head.”

"Shut up and hand over the manual."

"Look, if you really want to read, I have a book here which you may find interesting. It's called the 'Seven Daily Habits of Highly Defective People'. You may find it relevant."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you are what I categorize as 'Highly Defective' people."

Sun Cheong swore. He stretched out his hand suddenly and delivered a powerful palm blast at Wen Yiji who leapt out of the way just in time.

"That was a powerful palm blast," thought Wen Yiji. "This Buddha Palm can be trouble! Big trouble!"

"You are fast," remarked Sun Cheong. "But you cannot escape me forever! Hand me the Invisibility Manual and I will give you an easy death."

"You want the Invisibility Manual" asked Wen Yiji. "No problem! Here, catch!"

He threw something in the air towards Sun Cheong.

"You have not thrown anything," noted Sun Cheong angrily. "Are you mocking me?"

"Of course not!" replied Wen Yiji. "I threw you the manual. You did not see it because it is invisible!"

"Do not attempt to insult my intelligence! The Invisibility Manual is visible!"

"If it is visible, then it would not be the Invisibility Manual, would it?"

Sun Cheong stood there for a moment contemplating the logic of Wen Yiji's words. Then he snarled angrily, "I give you toasted wine but you want punishment wine. Fine! I will make your journey to Hades a slow and painful one!"

The bald man was fast. He leapt towards Wen Yiji and delivered a Buddha Palm strike that would kill a bull. Wen Yiji hurriedly parried the blow. The amount of force he had to use told him the one thing that he feared; that Sun Cheong's Buddha Palm was more powerful than his own Dark Fire Iron Palm. Sun Cheong kept on attacking relentlessly and Wen Yiji defended by weaving out of reach or parrying the blow each time. The potato seller knew of the reputation of the Buddha Palm only too well to attempt to match iron palms with his opponent. Although they were both equal in speed, Wen Yiji knew that any unexpected move from Sun Cheong would end his life. It was like a leopard attempting to battle the lion.

"You are fast!" remarked the bald man. "But sooner or later, I will land a blow and that will be the end of you."

"Maybe it will be me who will land a blow on you," retorted Wen Yiji. "The battle is not over yet."

"If you can beat me, I will eat my own shit!"

"Your own shit? No, if I beat you, you will eat my shit!"

"Saliva more than tea......save it for your potato customers."

"Which one? The saliva or the tea?"

Sun Cheong did not bother to answer the question. He attacked with a palm blast which Wen Yiji avoided. The blast missed Yiji but rocked the carriage a few steps behind him.

Baaaaaaaaaaaammm!!!

"Don't destroy my carriage!" yelled Wen Yiji.

Sun Cheong moved close enough to Yiji and aimed an iron palm at his chest. Wen Yiji parried the blow and at close quarters, he turned his hand and flicked his finger. It delivered a finger blast at Sun Cheong's eyes. It was not a powerful blast, but it was delivered at close quarters and totally unexpected. Temporarily blinded, Sun Cheong stood rooted at his feet, unmoving. Wen Yiji followed up with a Dark Fire Iron Palm to Sun Cheong's chest. However, at the same moment, Sun Cheong delivered a Buddha Palm strike to Wen Yiji's chest. The two strikes sounded together as one.

Boooooooommmm!

Both fighters flew apart fom each other and landed on the ground.

Wen Yiji got up, clutching his chest. His pain was great, but bearable.

"Your eyes were injured! How did you manage to strike me?" he gasped.

"I might not have seen you but I definitely heard you," replied Sun Cheong. "What you did not know was that, even temporarily without the use of sight, I can still fight! The powers of my ears have no equal under Heaven!"

Sun Cheong opened his eyes. They were still smarting from Wen Yiji's fingerblast, but they could see. His chest was aflame. He controlled his breathing to allow the self healing process to begin.

"We are both injured," said Wen Yiji. “Let’s call this a draw and walk away.” He tried not to let his opponent see how badly hurt he was.

"A draw?” asked the bald Sun Cheong. “You must be joking. You have not yet tasted my full strength yet! Truly, I have no equal under Heaven. That was a powerful iron palm you used. I have not felt a pain like this for a very long time. What kungfu did you use?"

Wen Yiji did not feel that it was wise to let people know that he was using the Dark Fire Iron Palm because of its dark reputation in the past. He remembered the name of a kungfu that his former cellmate claimed to have used. "I used the Black Widow Tiger Chomping Chop," he said.

“There is no such martial art!” sneered the bald man.

“Yes, there is!” claimed Wen Yiji. “It’s so powerful that I once chop down on an elephant’s head with just my bare right hand and cracked its skull wide open! Just like that! Then the father came to look for me.”

“The father? Whose father?”

“The elephant’s father. So I chopped down with my left hand and cracked the father’s skull as well.”

“You are full of shit. A stupid story told by an idiot. Why don’t you say the elephant’s grandfather also came to look for you?”

“Well he didn’t!”

“And why not?”

“Because he was busy cavorting with your grandmother at that time. You have an interesting lineage.”

“You will die painfully!” screamed the enraged Sun Cheong. He rushed at Wen Yiji who leapt up high overhead to avoid twin palm blasts from his bald opponent. As Wen Yiji flipped through the air, the manual fell out of his clothes and dropped down onto the ground. It landed in an open position.

“The Manual of Invisibility!” exclaimed Sun Cheong as he made a rush to pick it up.

Wen Yiji too made a rush for it, but it was Sun Cheong who picked it up first by the end pages of the book. Wen Yiji, however, managed to grab the front pages of the book. The two men stared at each other, with each one holding onto part of the manual.

“We are in a stalemate,” noted Wen Yiji. “If I as much as pull, the book will be split into two. The manual will be torn.”

“There is something that you are not aware of,” said Sun Cheong.

“What?”

“I wanted the manual not because I wanted to study invisibility. I wanted the manual in order to destroy it! I do not care if the book is torn into a thousand pieces!”

“I don’t believe you!”

“I care not what you believe. I have always thought that invisibility kungfu was an evil to be exterminated from the face of world. It is a dark martial art and should not be practiced by morally upright people!”

“You are right. Better let go the book so that I can take care of its destruction.”

“I have a much better idea,” said Sun Cheong. With his left hand still holding to half of the manual, his right hand shot out an iron palm strike towards Yiji. Automatically, Wen Yiji countered with his Dark Fire Iron Palm to block Sun Cheong’s strike. He remembered too late that he was not supposed to match palms with the Buddha Palm. The Dark Fire Iron Palm met the Buddha Palm, palm against palm, internal energy against internal energy, immense power against immense power.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!!!

The shockwave energy sent Sun Cheong tumbling ten steps away from his previous position.

In contrast, the blast shot Wen Yiji powerfully over the ground. His body cut a path through the air and crashed against the half opened door of the house.

PLAAAAARRRRPPPP!!!

Wen Yiji’s body landed and rolled on the floor before it came to a stop as a crumpled heap against the wooden wall inside the house. He was bleeding internally and he knew it. He was reminded painfully of the fact that the power of the Buddha Palm was too strong to be matched by his Dark Fire Iron Palm. From the inside of the house, he watched as his bald opponent outside pick himself up from the ground.

Sun Cheong called out, “Hey, potato seller! Guess what…..I got the larger half of the Invisibility Manual!”

Wen Yiji looked at his hand. He was still clutching part of the manual; but only the first few pages.

Sun Cheong called out again, “Hey, are you still alive? You better pray that you are dead! I shall make your last few moments so agonizing that you will wish that you have never been borne at all!”

Wen Yiji could only listen in silence. He was too weak to even speak, let alone get up. He knew that he could offer no resistance when Sun Cheong comes into the house to kill him.

Sun Cheong exercised his breathing in a controlled manner. He gathered his energy and felt ready for the pleasurable task of killing the potato seller. Smiling to himself, he walked towards the house. Helplessly, Wen Yiji watched as his opponent approached.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Sun Cheong found his legs being grabbed from behind by the Ghost Ninja. The old man, caught the legs in a death grip and screamed, “Run…….potato seller…….run……!!!”

Using his considerable energy, Sun Cheong brought his hand down on the head of the Ghost Ninja and crushed the skull. The old man’s eyes locked with Wen Yiji’s even as he died, still mouthing the word, “Run!” In death, the old man’s grip was still unrelenting.

As Sun Cheong was trying to extricate himself from the death grip of the dead Ghost Ninja, two riders on horseback came galloping around the bend.

Sun Cheong paused in what he was doing. He recognized one of the riders.

“The Flute Master,” he whispered to himself. “It has been a long time!”

Chapter 8: Always a higher mountain

The two riders slowed down on seeing Sun Cheong prying himself loose from the grip of the Ghost Ninja. They stayed at a respectable distance.

"Sifu," whispered Blackface on his horse. "Who is that man?”

"That is Master Sun Cheong," whispered back Chui La Pah. "And the old man on the ground looks like the Ghost Ninja!"

"From the looks of it, this Sun Cheong must have beaten up the Ghost Ninja," remarked Blackface.

"Or killed him," said his sifu.

"In that case, Sun Cheong has just saved us a lot of trouble. We should go and thank him."

"No."

"Why not? He has done our work for us. Maybe we can buy him a drink also."

"No!”

“But sifu, a drink will not cost much."

“No! You the sifu or I the sifu?"

"You the sifu, sifu."

"Don't you ever forget that!"

"Yes, sifu,” said Blackface. “Sun Cheong is holding what appears to be a book in his hand.”

"You are right," said Chui La Pah. "Here, take my horse and get at least fifty steps away from me. I will approach on foot from here."

The Flute Master handed his reins to Blackface and got down from his horse. Blackface led both horses away to a safer distance. Slowly, Chui La Pah walked towards Sun Cheong.

Inside the house, Wen Yiji welcomed the respite in fighting and tried to heal himself with his inner energy. He inhaled the qi from the air and tried to expel his pain with each breath. He knew that he might not have time to recover completely, so he would have to find a means of escape as soon as his legs could bear the weight of his body.

Sun Cheong stared hard at the two riders. He knew who they were. Something told him that the presence of the Flute Master could not have been an accident. He was instantly on the alert.

Chui La Pah stared back at Sun Cheong steadily without flinching as he approached slowly. There was no love lost between the two men. The Flute Master called out, "Good afternoon, Master Sun Cheong. Long time no see."

Sun Cheong called back, "Good afternoon, Master Chui. Long time no see, long time happy. May I ask, what brings you here to these parts?"

"I am seeking the Ghost Ninja. There is a matter that I wish to discuss with him.”

Sun Cheong swore softly to himself, “Early don’t come, late don’t come. Now only want to come. After I have killed the Ghost Ninja. Ta ma de.”

Aloud he said, “I am afraid that is not possible. The Ghost Ninja is dead.”

“I see his body lying beside you. Did you kill him?”

“No, I did not. He was already dead when I arrived!”

“Liar!” whispered Wen Yiji on the floor inside the house. Although he could see Sun Cheong, from his position, he could not see whom the bald man was talking too.

Sun Cheong stepped away from the body of the dead old man. He took a few steps towards the Flute Master and thus moved out of Wen Yiji’s range of sight. With pain racking his body, Wen Yiji moved his hands and placed the few pages of the Invisibility Manual inside his clothes. He took a deep breath to gather his Dark Fire Inner Energy. Then he crawled painfully to the side of the house and peeped out through a crack in the wooden wall. He saw the bald Sun Cheong talking to someone who had two flutes tucked in his waistband.

“Two flutes!” he gasped to himself. “He must be the man by the Yellow River…..the one whom the old man was trying to avoid!”

He could see the Flute Master clearly this time. Then he noticed Blackface on horseback some distance in the background. He cursed, “That looks like one of the bastards who was shooting arrows at our boat the other day! I remember that one of them had a dark face.”

Outside the house, Chui La Pah asked, "How did the Ghost Master die, Master Sun Cheong?"

"From old age, I think, Master Chui. How should I know?"

“Pardon me for not believing you. But I think you killed him,” said Chui La Pah in an accusing tone.

“You got which eye that saw me kill him?” asked Sun Cheong. “Which eye?”

“I can see from here that his skull is crushed in. It is obvious to me that you killed him with your Buddha Palm!”

“Why would I do a thing like that?”

“For his secret manual. That must be his Invisibility Manual that you are holding in your hand.”

“This book?” asked Sun Cheong, holding up the manual. “It is not any Invisibility Manual. It is just an ordinary book……called ‘The Seven Daily Habits of Highly Defective People’. You wouldn’t be interested.”

“Ahhhhh…….but I am interested!”

“Too bad.”

“May I respectfully request that you let me have it?”

“Your request is hereby refused.”

"I see," said the Flute Master grimly. "You wish to keep it for yourself."

"No, I wish to destroy it. I was going to do that when you appeared."

"But, why? Why?"

"Because it is totally trash and is not fit to be read by humans."

“Give it to me!”

“No!”

"If you do not give it to me, do not blame me if there is no mercy under my hand!"

"Are you threatening me? You dare to threaten me?"

"That was not a threat. That was a statement of fact!"

In the house, Wen Yiji had already recovered a tiny bit of his strength. He could stand up weakly if he chose to. However, he stayed glued to the hole in the wall, spying on both men and listening. At the back of his mind, he knew that he should be trying to escape while Sun Cheong's attention was diverted. But for some strange reason, he felt compelled to see the outcome of the confrontation between the Flute Master and Sun Cheong.

"Do not be arrogant!” warned Sun Cheong. “What makes you think that you are in a position to threaten me? What qualifications do you have? You are only a trumpet player!"

"I play the flute, not the trumpet!"

"Same thing. Both also make noise with a lot of hot air.”

"Your words are rude and offensive. There is a limit to my patience. I offer you toasted wine, but you insist on punishment wine.”

"Do not talk big in my presence, Master Chui. Just because you have become the running dog of Prince Jin, you think you can put on airs."

"You know of my connection to Prince Jin? Then you should know better than to displease me."

"Who is Prince Jin? Who? A royal nobody! I have no equal under Heaven. I will displease whoever I wish!"

“Your conceit will get you killed. There is always a higher mountain.”

“There is no higher mountain than the Buddha Palm!”

“Proud words. Very big mouth breath. You must have forgotten that I am capable of killing with sound."

“Sound?” sneered Sun Cheong. “Ahhh……yes…..I remember. A long time ago, you woke up one night to play your flute and in the morning you discovered that your wife and children had died in the night. Then you remarried. But you forgot, and so you got up at night to play your flute again. Your second family also died. That is why you have no wife and no children! How pitiful!”

“Do not bring up the subject of my wife and children!”

“You know what killed them? It was your lousy playing! I think they killed themselves when they heard your horrible music. Hahahaha!”

“For that terrible remark, you will die!” snarled the Flute Master in cold fury. “I will kill you first and then take that manual away from your cold dead fingers!”

He took out his Devil Flute and blew some notes on it. The Sounds of Hell from the flute hit Sun Cheong like a blast of pain inside his head.

For a brief moment, Sun Cheong stood there transfixed to the ground. Then he sprang into action. He leapt after the Flute Master and delivered a palm blast. However, the Sounds of Hell had already slowed down his functions and the Flute Master evaded the palm blast easily. Chui La Pah was a canny fighter. He moved his legs even as he played his flute, and maintained his distance from Sun Cheong at twenty five steps; a distance too far for the Buddha Palm blast to be effective, but near enough for the Sounds of Hell to inflict damage.

Inside the house, Wen Yiji felt as if his insides were collapsing. He was not sure what was happening, but instinctively knew that the destructive impact came from the flute. He was not as near to the Flute Master as Sun Cheong and the house wall shielded him to a certain extent. Still, he felt the immense power of the killing sounds exerting a pulsing pressure inside his head. By reflex, he clamped his hands to his ears to block out the sound. It helped, but not as much as he had hoped.

Sun Cheong cried, "Stand and fight me like a man, if you dare!"

The Flute Master ignored him and continue blowing the flute.

Sun Cheong tried a different tactic. His nostrils were bleeding and he decided that it was futile trying to chase after Chui La Pah. Somehow, the sounds of the flute interfered with his fucntions. Using his inner energy, he attempted to shield his organs against the awesome power of the Devil Flute. He faced the Flute Master and concentrated on blocking out the sounds. He held the manual in one hand behind his back and sent a spurt of energy to it. The manual caught fire.

“He’s burning the manual!” gasped Wen Yiji from inside the house. The sight of the burning book galvanized him into action. In agony, he struggled to his feet. Then he saw two buns on the table inside the house. He grabbed the buns and stuffed them one to each ear. Then he clamped his hands tightly over them. The squashed buns sealed up his ears and prevented the Sounds of Hell from entering them. However, although he could not hear anything at all, he could still feel some effect. He could not understand what was happening but knew that he had to get away quickly.

Painfully, he stumbled to the back of the house and then out through the back door. He wandered a few more steps, fell down and tumbled down a slope. The pain in his body was still there, but he was out of range of the Devil Flute. He got up and kept on walking until finally he fell into a hole in the ground and passed out

Meanwhile, the Flute Master blew his Devil Flute relentlessly. He could see smoke rising up from the head of Sun Cheong. What he did not know was that the smoke did not come from Sun Cheong’s exertion of inner energy, but from the flame of the burning manual held behind Sun Cheong.

The realization soon hit Sun Cheong that his powerful Buddha Palm was unable to control the effects of the devilish sounds. He thought that perhaps he should not have burned the manual but used it to bargain for his life. It was too late now; the manual had been destroyed. He could feel his body weakening fast as his strength depleted. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be killed. However, he had one more trick left. He would have to use the Death Illusion Stance and hope for the best. The Death Illusion Stance would send him into a death-like state for half a day and perhaps fool his enemy into thinking that he was dead. Using the remaining energy he had left, he slowed down his heart and breathing. Then he toppled over onto the ground and lay there unmoving.

For a while, the Flute Master kept playing his flute. Then he stopped playing and looked at the immobile Sun Cheong. He hailed his disciple.

“Blackface. Go and see if he is dead,” he ordered.

Blackface approached Sun Cheong’s body with great caution and kicked it a few times. There was no response. Then he jumped up and down on Sun Cheong’s body. Again, there was no response. He knelt down to examine the body.

“Sifu,” he said. “There is no pulse and no breath. Master Sun Cheong’s body is cold and does not emanate yang qi. The blood that was flowing out of his nostrils has dried. I think he is dead.”

The Flute Master then approached the body. He noticed the charred remains of the manual still held in Sun Cheong’s fingers and realized at once what had happened.

“You stupid fool!” he screamed. “How could you have destroyed that!”

He searched the body and found nothing else. Then he walked over to the Ghost Ninja’s body and searched it, hoping to find another copy of the Invisibility Manual. Again, he found nothing.

“What are you looking for, sifu?” asked Blackface.

“I am looking for the Ghost Ninja’s Invisibility Manual.”

“Maybe, it could have fallen on the ground somewhere.”

“Maybe. But I don’t think so.”

“I will help you look,” said Blackface. He got down on his knees and started to feel around.

“What are you doing?” asked the Flute Master.

“I’m looking for the Ghost Ninja’s Invisibility Manual.”

“You don’t have to get down on the ground to feel for it.”

“Sifu, I reckon that the Invisibility Manual will be invisible. If I don’t feel for it, how will I know if it is there?”

“Oh, Heavens,” mumbled the Flute Master. “There is no such thing as an invisible manual! Pig head no brains! Will you stop wasting time?”

“But sifu…”

“No buts. You the sifu or I the sifu?”

Blackface kept silent.

Chui La Pah walked into the house. The place looked like it had not been cleaned for a long time. It was more or less uninhabited. He came out and found Blackface busy trying to lug a bag of potatoes out of Wen Yiji’s carriage.

“What are you doing?” asked the Flute Master.

“I found some potatoes, sifu,” replied Blackface. We can take these back and get them cooked for dinner.”

“You want to take back some worthless potatoes?” screamed his sifu. “Have you learned nothing from me? We only take what is worth taking! Like gold and silver, you idiot! Go around to the back of the house and see if there is anyone else here!”

Blackface dropped the bag of potatoes like hot potatoes. He ran around the house to the back and looked around. Soon, he came back.

“There is nobody around, sifu,” he reported. "Not even a fly."

“Are you sure?” asked the Flute Master. “Did you check carefully?”

“Yes, I did,” replied Blackface confidently.

“Our man in Gaotang told us that the Ghost Master was travelling inside a carriage with some other man. Hmmmmph……who was that other man?”

“It’s simple, sifu,” replied Blackface. “That other man was Sun Cheong. The two of them traveled here together.”

“Why would both of them come here?” asked the Flute Master. “This place is so secluded.”

“I think they were having an affair,” suggested his disciple. “Things like this is known to happen. They must have come here for a bit of privacy.”

“Shut up. You don’t know them as well as I do.”

“Well, at least we can tell Fire Cloud’s widow that her dead husband’s killer is dead.”

The mention of Fire Cloud reminded Chui La Pah of something.

“I left Whiteface to arrange the transportation of White Cloud's coffin back to the Imperial City," said the Flute Master. "Let’s go back to see how Whiteface is doing.”

The two men got on their horses and rode back the way they came.

Some time later, Wen Yiji regained consciousness. He clambered out of the hole and looked around. His body still hurt, but the healing process had done a good job. He could move around without much effort.

“What a day,” he muttered to himself. “Almost got killed by the Buddha Palm. And then almost got killed by the Flute Master also. Never been so shameful before!”

He headed towards the front of the house and then found the bodies of Sun Cheong and the Ghost Ninja. His carriage was intact, but the horse was dead, killed by the Sounds of Hell from the Devil Flute.

“Poor horse,” he muttered. “No chance to pull another carriage."

He contemplated the situation and then grumbled, "Poor me. Now I have to pull the stupid carriage!”

He bent over the dead body of the Ghost Ninja and said, “Old man. I did not know who you were. However, I will give you a decent burial. I remembered you saying that you were visiting the grave of your friend. I will bury you beside your friend.”

He got a spade from his carriage and headed behind the house to look for the grave of the Ghost Ninja’s friend. He remembered the old man saying that the grave was on the other side of the hill behind the house. He soon located the grave and started digging into the earth beside it. As he dug, he heard the sound of a horse snorting. Curious, he followed the direction of the sound and found a brown horse tied behind a huge bush.

“This must be Sun Cheong’s horse!” he exclaimed. “He must have kept it here so that the Ghost Ninja would not suspect that anyone was in the vicinity.”

When he had finished digging the grave, Wen Yiji took the horse and rode it to the house to collect the dead Body of the Ghost Ninja.

"Old man," he addressed the corpse. "I will not be able to dress you nicely before burying you. I will have to bury you as you are. Both you and your killer are entering Hell together. I cannot make you better looking than your killer. But I can make him uglier than you!"

Wen Yiji took the spade and aimed at Sun Cheong's head. Then he brought the spade down sharply. Twice. Sun Cheong's face was instantly disfigured.

However, Wen Yiji was still not satisfied. "Old man," he cried. "I will make sure that Sun Cheong will not be able to chase you around in Hell!"

So saying, he took the spade and broke Sun Cheong's right leg in twenty places. He leaned back and looked at his handiwork.

"One last thing, Old Man. Looks are not everything. I will make doubly sure that this Sun Cheong will not be able to compete with you for women in Hell!"

He stood between Sun Cheong's legs and struck repeatedly with the spade. Finally, he was satisfied. He then lifted the Ghost Ninja's body onto the brown horse and led it to the grave. After he had buried the old man, he hitched the horse onto his carriage. A sudden pain in his chest reminded him that his internal wounds had not yet closed entirely. He looked in the direction of Sun Cheong and cursed colourfully.

Suddenly, he remembered something. The words of Sun Cheong "If you can beat me, I will eat my own shit!" rang in his mind.

In anger, he took some horse shit to Sun Cheong's body that was still in the Death Illusion Stance. He said, "Since I did not beat you, I cannot force you to eat your own shit. However, I can give you some other shit, you lowly worm!"

Wen Yiji opened up the bald man's mouth and dumped the horse shit in. Then he took a stick and compacted the shit in the mouth.

Klook Klook Klook Klook Klook!

His anger subsided slightly. He took one last look at the area and then drove his carriage away from the place where he had very nearly lost his life. Twice.

Some time in the night, Sun Cheong woke up from his Death Illusion Stance. Instantly, he felt the intense pain on his face, his right leg and the area between his legs.

After having discovered that he was still alive, he asked, "Wot ish dis stuff in mah mouf?"

Chapter 9: The laws of invisibility

Wen Yiji tried hard to stay awake on the carriage. Exhaustion ate into his spirit. The day had been a disaster as far as he was concerned. Nevertheless, he was glad to be still alive after the ordeal with the Buddha Palm and the Devil Flute. The pains within his body told him that his multiple injuries required the attention from a daifu. He was still coughing up blood every now and then.

He thought of the Ghost Ninja. "Poor old fella," he muttered. "Travel so far just to get himself killed. Talk about bad luck."

He passed through a little town and spotted an inn. Tiredly, he got down from the carriage and booked a room. He then sent for a daifu who took his pulse.

"You are not well," announced the daifu.

"I know that," remarked Wen Yiji. "That is why I sent for you."

"Your internal injuries are severe. However, it appears that you are very strong and thus you can still walk around even with your internal injuries. Most people would have died already. You need to exercise caution. If you exert yourself strenuously, you may start hemorrhaging internally again. It is best that you get half a month of rest to allow your system to heal properly."

"I cannot wait that long," said Wen Yiji. "Just write me a prescription. Make the dosage twice as strong so that I will heal in half the time.”

“Medication does not work that way. If I were to follow your line of thinking, then I will be able to make the dosage ten times as strong so that you will heal in one-tenth the time!”

“That is a good idea! That’s try it!”

"No! If the dosage is too strong, there may be side effects. You can get hallucinations!"

"I need to get well fast. I can deal with the side effects and hallucinations."

"I’m sorry, but we daifus have a code to follow. I will write you the prescription that I think is best for you," said the daifu. "What year were you born?"

Wen Yiji told him. The daifu did a quick calculation and said, "Your Heavenly Doctor direction is east. Sleep with the head of your bed to the east. Also, when you boil the herbal medicine, turn the stove such that the qi mouth faces the east. That should help you recover faster."

"Thank you," replied Wen Yiji as he paid the daifu. After the daifu had left, Wen Yiji walked over to a medicine shop and bought twice the amount the doctor had written. Then he had a stove brought to his room so that he could boil his medicine. He set the stove facing east, his tianyi, or Heavenly Doctor direction.

+ + + + + +

The lone rider arrived at the house and knocked on the door.

“Master Sun Cheong,” he called out. “I am here with the food supplies.”

There was no answer. He pushed the door open and entered the house. Sun Cheong was lying on the floor, weak with pain. He had tried to use his Buddha Palm internal energy to heal himself but the injuries were too many and therefore the process was slow.

“Master Sun Cheong!” cried the rider. “What happened to your face?”

“I don’t know,” whispered Sun Cheong hoarsely. “I have been in a fight…..too many internal injuries…….will need a daifu.”

“Can you get up?” asked the rider, who was one of the Seventh Prince’s underlings. His job was to bring food supplies for Sun Cheong every few days.

“My right leg is broken and I am unable to walk,” replied Sun Cheong. “But my job here is done. Can you arrange for a carriage to take me back to the capital?”

“No problem,” said the rider. “But the journey will be painful if you have not recovered from your injuries.”

“I can stand the journey. I left my horse tied to a bush on the other side of the hill behind the house. Go fetch it.”

The rider went to look for the horse. He soon came back to report, “I’m afraid your horse has disappeared. Must have escaped or got stolen. But there is a dead horse out in front. It is starting to smell.”

Sun Cheong cursed. However, his priority was not the horse. He needed to get well as fast as he could. His mission was to kill the Ghost Ninja and he had accomplished that. He did not know what had happened to the bodies of the Ghost Ninja or the potato seller, but he did not care. He had not been able to walk easily or pee painlessly for the past few days and so he knew that it was imperative that he get to a good daifu as fast as possible.

Later in the day, the carriage arrived. Sun Cheong got inside and settled himself in for the journey. The bumpiness of the road rattled his body agonisingly and he swore at every bump in the road.

+ + + + + +

The Flute Master and Blackface had met up with Whiteface and other sect members who were escorting the coffin of Fire Cloud back to the Imperial Capital. Chui La Pah was in a mournful mood. Of his three disciples, he had liked Fire Cloud the most.

“I cannot understand how Fire Cloud was so easily killed,” he mumbled.

“That is plain for all to see, sifu,” answered Whiteface. “Brother Fire Cloud got married to junior sister Phoenix just a few months ago. And every night, he was humping Phoenix like no tomorrow. Of course his knees will be weak and his eyesight blurry. Stand also cannot stand properly….how to fight?”

“Do not talk that way of the dead!” admonished Chui La Pah. “Go and check that the horses are well watered.”

“Yes, sifu,” said Whiteface as he walked off to attend to his duties.

The Flute Master sighed, “I now have the unpleasant task of breaking the sad news to Phoenix.”

With a look of utmost concern on his face, Blackface spoke, “I will be most willing to comfort sister Phoenix in her time of sorrow, sifu.”

“I am sure that you would,” replied his sifu sarcastically.

“Sister Phoenix is too young to be a widow,” remarked Blackface. “I know that now is not the occasion to ask about such things, but when the time comes for Phoenix to marry again, will you give her to me?”

“You are right. Now is not the occasion to ask about such things.”

“But a time will come when the occasion is right.”

“If I am not mistaken, Whiteface also wants to marry her. And he is your senior.”

“Whiteface will not be able to keep her satisfied the way I can.”

“Are you bragging?”

“No, sifu. A fair way to decide is to allow me to fight Whiteface for her.”

“Shut up. We will not discuss this matter any further.”

“But sifu….”

“But what? You the sifu or I the sifu?”

Blackface was silent. He knew that Whiteface would not give up the chance of marrying Phoenix. Who would? She was the hottest woman in the whole Green Scorpion Sect. All there of them; Fire Cloud, Whiteface and Blackface, wanted to marry her. However, Master Chui La Pah had decided that Fire Cloud would be the one to marry her. With Fire Cloud dead, the race should be once again wide open. Thinking about Phoenix made him horny. But Master Chui appeared to favour Whiteface. Damn! The face of Blackface turned black.

+ + + + + +

For five days, Wen Yiji stayed in his room at the inn, drinking double dosage herbal medicine and sleeping. He did not experience any hallucinations except for a few occasions. On one occasion, the room looked twice as big as it was. On another occasion, he thought he saw a blue goat in the room humping the stove.

At the end of five days, he had enough. His recovery was almost complete. He decided that it was time to journey on. He should be on his way to Qinghe to investigate former Imperial Guard Yee Ng Chai. A prosperous Yee Ng Chai. Dealing with cotton fabrics in the Northwestern sector of Qinghe. Near the Buhou bridge. No, Wen Yiji had not forgotten.

Riding his horse drawn carriage, Wen Yiji wondered idly what to say to Yee. It would not do to go and accuse Yee Ng Chai of betrayal without proof. All of a sudden, he felt the urge to shit. He was passing a lightly wooded area, so he turned his carriage off the road. Getting down from the carriage, he went behind a bush and pulled down his pants.

A bird on a tree stared at him and chirped noisily.

"Oh, shut it," scolded Wen Yiji. "Just let me shit in peace and I'll be out of here."

While waiting to finish shitting, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten to take water to wash his backside. It was a small problem. He remembered that he had the first few pages of the Ghost Ninja's manual on him. He could use those pages as toilet paper.

Wen Yiji reached into his clothes and pulled out the pages of the Invisibility Manual.

"Invisibility Manual! Hahaha! I have never heard of such nonsense! It is amazing what rubbishy concepts that people will believe," he smiled in amusement. "Only the village idiot will ever think that a person can truly become invisible!"

He looked at the first page and saw the words:

The Three Laws of Invisibility

"What? This rubbishy concept also got laws?" he asked in amazement. "No joke, man!"

He read on.

First Law: To become invisible, one must first be visible.

"Na beh......that is stating the obvious," he clucked in disgust. "Of course one has to be visible before becoming invisible. If one is already invisible before becoming invisible, then there is no need to try and become invisible some more!"

He read on.

Second Law: Once you become invisible, no one can see you.

"Na beh…..." commented Wen Yiji. "Stating the obvious again! I do not need a manual to tell me that. If someone can still see you then obviously you did not become invisible!"

The third law read:

Third law: You should first know the trick to become visible before you become invisible.

"Na beh......" commented Yiji again. "There is no trick in being visible. Everyone can do that! This manual is so longwinded. Say so many things without saying anything at all."

Wen Yiji had still not finished shitting, so he read on for entertainment's sake.

Instructions: Breathe in five times normally and then breathe out two times.

He breathed in five times and found that he had to breathe out five times.

"I can't believe this crap I am reading," he sighed. "How can anyone breathe in five times and breathe out two times? Breathing in, alternates with breathing out. If you breathe in five times, you have to breathe out five times as well! Obviously, the instructions in these pages are not going to be any good! In fact, this paper is not even worth the shit I am about to wipe!"

He had just finished shitting. Without any further thought, he took the page that he was reading and wiped his ass with it. As he was getting up, he read the next page.

slowly and three times quickly.

"Oh, I get it now!" he exclaimed. "I was supposed to breathe in five times normally and then breathe out two times slowly and three times quickly!"

He tied his pants with his cloth belt and continued, "Let's see if there are any more stupid instructions."

Out of curiosity, he followed every step of exercise listed in the pages and before he knew it, he reached the end of the pages.

"Hmmmmph, no more steps to follow," he muttered. "Well, I don't feel any different. I wonder if there is a lot more steps in the portion that Sun Cheong burned. Stupid moron. Fight me so hard for the manual just to burn it. What an idiot. And I'm no better. I wonder how much time I have already wasted in following the Ghost Ninja's instructions."

He looked at his hands and feet. He was still visible. He laughed, “There! I knew all along that invisibility was impossible!”

He climbed onto the carriage and continued travelling along the dirt road. All of a sudden, the sky got much darker. He felt weird, as if he was not himself. He looked up at the sky.

“Strange weather,” he mumbled to himself. “Not a cloud in the sky but it’s dark. Maybe it is already dusk. But that is impossible. I haven’t had my lunch yet. Could be another hallucination. Perhaps I should get to an inn to rest."

After driving some distance, he spotted three people working in a field planting some crops. He decided to stop and ask directions to the nearest inn. There were three of them; a young girl, an old woman and an old man. He leapt off the carriage and headed for the young girl first.

“Miss,” he said softly. “Will you be kind enough to tell me where the nearest inn can be found?”

The girl turned to look at him. Her eyes widened in shock. Then she fainted and fell to the ground.

Wen Yiji was surprised. It was not the reaction that he expected.

“Wa piang!” he muttered. “These rural girls never see handsome men before! See one good-looking guy and they faint!”

He walked over to the old woman and called out, “Excuse me, auntie.”

The old woman stopped the work she was doing, straightened up, turned around and looked at him. The next moment, she gave a loud scream and then she also fainted.

“Huh?” asked an astonished Wen Yiji. “I have effect on old women also? I must be more handsome than I realized! Maybe I can even get hired for my looks!”

By this time, the old man had also straightened up and turned around. He took one look at Wen Yiji and then fell to his knees. The old man kowtowed to him without stopping.

“What? Old man also?” muttered Wen Yiji. “Wah lau eh….old men also affected by my looks. I don’t know if that is a good thing or not!”

Aloud, he shouted, “Hey, old man! Stop it! I don’t want to be your idol!”

The old man cried, “Sir, I beg you. Please do not disturb us. If you don't harm us, I promise to offer you a roast pig!”

“Harm you? Do I look like a bandit to you?” asked Wen Yiji indignantly. “And where is your roast pig?”

"Mercy! Have mercy on us, O Torsoless Ghost!" cried the old man. "Oh mercy!"

Wen Yiji was mystified. "Why do you call me a Torsoless Ghost?" he asked.

"I am sorry if you are offended by that name," replied the old man, quivering in fear. "I mean no offense. Since I could only see your legs and not your torso, I called you Torsoless Ghost. I meant no offense. Please don’t kill me."

"Oh," said Wen Yiji, still mystified. "Why can't you see my torso? Is there something wrong with your eyesight?"

"Please do not toy with me, O Whatever Ghost," cried the old farmer. "I am only a simple farmer. You have no torso. I can only see you from the thighs down."

"What?" yelled Wen Yiji. He tried to look at his own body and found that he could see only his legs. No wonder he had been feeling strange. He had earlier dismissed it as a hallucination effect from his medication.

The old man kept on kowtowing.

"Wait a minute," said Wen Yiji. "Maybe this old man is a hallucination! Just like the goat the other day. Except that this hallucination can talk!"

He went over to the old man and kicked him gently.

"No, no, no!" cried the man. “No, don’t kill me!”

The old man sounded real enough. Wen Yiji next pinched himself.

"Ow!" he cried. "This is no hallucination!"

He looked at his own body. Again, he saw only his legs. He could not see his hands. However, he could feel his hands and body. He knew that his head was still there.

“I have turned half-invisible!” he thought to himself in astonishment. “For some reason, only the lower half of the body is visible while the upper part is invisible!”

Wen Yiji stood there for a long time pondering the magnitude of the event that had befallen him while the old man prostrated himself before him.

“I get it now,” he muttered softly to himself. “I practiced the Ghost Ninja’s martial art and that has turned me invisible. Since I only had half the manual, I became invisible in the upper half of my body. Yes! Yes! The concept works! Too bad the other half of the manual was destroyed!”

Exhilarated, Wen Yiji walked up and down, reveling in his state of semi invisibility.

“What am I doing?” he asked the old man while waving his hands in front of him. ‘Tell me or I will eat you!”

“You are just standing there,” answered the old man. “Please do not eat me, O great Ghost!”

Wen Yiji smiled gleefully as he nodded his head. “You can’t see what I am doing, can you?”

“Now you are nodding your head,” said the old man.

“What? Can you see my head?”

“Only your eyes. I can see them very faintly up in the air,” answered the old man.

Wen Yiji was nonplussed. His eyes were still visible, albeit faintly. He closed his eyes to half slits and asked, “Do you see my eyes now?”

“No,” the old man replied.

“Are you truly unable to see my torso?” asked Wen Yiji.

“Err….yes, if you are standing still,” replied the old man. “But when you moved, I could detect a faint ripple in the air where your torso was supposed to be.”

This was something new. Wen Yiji was disappointed to find out that his torso invisibility was not true invisibility. But it made perfect sense. If the Ghost Ninja could become truly invisible, then he would have turned invisible to escape from Sun Cheong. Perhaps at night, the invisibility would function better. He looked at the sky. It had an odd hue. Either dusk was approaching or it was about to rain.

“Old man,” he said to the farmer. “Do you think it will rain?”

“No, O Ghost,” replied the old farmer. “It is a bright and sunny midmorning. I do not think it will rain today.”

“Mid morning? Did you say mid morning?” asked Wen Yiji. “Around lunchtime?”

“Yes,” affirmed the old man. “But I have not had my lunch yet.”

“Neither have I.”

“Please do not eat me, O High Ghost!”

“Tell me the truth. Do you find that the sky is dark for a mid morning?”

“No, I find it bright and sunny.”

“Oh shit….” mumbled Wen Yiji. His exhilaration was gone and he was starting to feel weird. He could feel the warmth of the sun’s rays on his feet, so he knew that the old man was speaking the truth. That would mean that his eyes were not functioning as they used to function before.

“Better turn back into my visible form,” he decided. Then he paused in his thoughts. He did not know how to become totally visible again!

“Oh, no, no, no!” he cried. “Don’t tell me that I will be like this for the rest of my life! Destined to live out my days as a Torsoless Ghost? Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit!”

He walked back and forth trying hard not to panic. Stopping in front of the old man, he asked desperately, “What do I do? What do I do?”

“You can haunt some place else instead,” replied the old farmer. “Please don’t haunt us!”

“I mean, what do I do to become a normal human?”

“A ghost cannot become a normal human, I’m afraid.”

“I am not a ghost!”

“Now, you are in denial.”

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“Ghosts don’t have shit to shit.”

“Maybe there is someone else I can see.”

“There is. Our village headman’s son is very humsap. Always going after people’s daughters. Or people’s wives. Sometimes people’s mothers also. You can go and see him.”

“Whatever for?”

“So that you can haunt him till he behaves himself.”

“Kanineh….I am talking about my problem and you are talking about humsap people! Will you be quiet for a moment? I need to think.”

Wen Yiji thought furiously, “I wonder if this invisibility is permanent. Maybe if I stand on my hands, the invisibility will be reversed.”

He stood on his hands and said to the old farmer, “Hey, old man! Tell me what you see!”

Before the farmer could answer, the farmer’s daughter got up from her faint. She looked in Yiji’s direction, gave a scream and promptly fainted again.

The farmer said, “I can see your two legs upside down in the air.”

So, the torso was still invisible.

“Damn!” cried Wen Yiji. He was at a loss at what next to do. He cursed and swore at all and sundry. He needed to go somewhere quiet so that he could work things out; somewhere where there were no people around.

“I need to go somewhere quiet,” he said to the farmer. “Do you know of such a place?”

“Ahh,” said the farmer understandingly. “You need to go to a yin place, suitable for ghosts, is it?. There is a forest not far from here. Go along the road towards west. You will come to a fork in the road. The left road goes to Qinghe and the right road goes to a dark forest. Very dark. Very yin. Not like here, so yang. Good for you there.”

“You appear to want me to leave here quickly. But I’m hungry. I need to eat first.”

“Please don’t eat me! Please don’t eat me!”

At that moment, the farmer’s wife got up from her faint. She looked at her husband cowering in front of Wen Yiji and so she started taking off her clothes.

“What are you doing?” hissed the old man to his wife

“They say that ghosts are afraid of naked women!” his wife hissed back.

“Mama, should I take off my clothes too?” asked the daughter who had woken up again from her faint.

“Yes! Do it fast!” replied her mother. In her hurry, she was all thumbs and could not undo a knot in her clothes.

The girl stripped quickly and stood up. Wen Yiji momentarily forgot his predicament to admire her form. She had nubile breasts and the hairy fuzz between her legs had formed into a vee.

The old woman finally struggled free of her clothes and stood beside her daughter. Wen Yiji took one look at the naked old woman and cringed. She was saggy and wrinkled all over.

“Oh heavens,” he muttered. “I wish I hadn’t seen that!”

He fled to his horse and carriage and drove away as fast as he could.

“Look at him go!” yelled the old woman in satisfaction. “He must be terribly frightened of us!”

“So, ghosts are really afraid of naked women!” remarked the old farmer in awe. “Luckily for me! He said that he was hungry. I thought he was going to eat me!”

“Thank the gods that you are not harmed, father!” exclaimed the daughter. “From now on, if a ghost tries to be funny, I will quickly take off my clothes!”

Chapter 10: The Semi-invisible Man

The road to the dark forest passed by a few desolate farmlands. Two young boys by the side of the road stared agog as they saw a horse and carriage with a pair of legs as the driver passing by them.

Wen Yiji gave them a cursory glance. He knew that he probably looked like a freak to them.

“Monster! Monster!” One of the little boys shouted.

“Quiet!” hissed the other boy. “The monster may hear us and then kill us!”

The two boys looked at each other in shock. Then they fled.

The sky grew cloudy but Wen Yiji did not notice. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have cared. There were heavier things occupying his mind. Soon, the carriage reached the dark forest. He found a suitable place to park his carriage under the shade of trees, hidden away from the main path. Away from prying eyes, he sat down to contemplate his fate.

“What do I do now,” he asked himself. “What do I do now? I have become a freak. I can’t show myself in the Imperial City. I can’t even go back to Tsinkiang. Everyone will flee in terror if they see only half of me! I may have to stay in this forest for the rest of my life and hide away from the view of humans. Oh heavens…..my life has come to an end!”

The story of his life played itself in his mind, “In the year that I was due to be married, I was imprisoned by the Emperor for six years during which time my family was killed. Just when I thought that my life was finally getting better, I turned into a freak. Is this some sort of dirty trick played upon me by the gods? Have I not paid my dues sufficiently?”

In a fit of anger, he walked to a nearby clearing and looked upwards. Then he shouted furiously at Heaven, “You gods who sit in your fairy palaces playing celestial chess with the lives of mankind! What did I do to deserve all this? True, I have killed a number of people, but every one of them deserved to be killed! Did I do wrong? Tell me, did I do wrong? Answer me!”

The forest fell silent. Even the crickets stopped their chirping.

“You cannot answer me, is it?” he shouted again. “Too embarrassed to give me an answer, is it? I tried to walk the path of peace! I tried to sell potatoes! And this is how you reward me? Why don’t you gods become human for a change and I become the god?”

Thunder rumbled in the clouds above.

“Come on, strike me!” he invited. “Strike me dead!”

Claaaaaaaaaaacckkkkk!

A flash of lightning struck the top of a nearby tree.

“You missed!” shouted Wen Yiji. “Why don’t you try again, you lousy shot? I will not try to flee! Come on! I am here! Over here!”

This time, there was no thunderbolt. All was silent.

“Is that it? One lousy shot and you decided to call it quits? Even an old one-legged rooster can shoot more times than you! Don’t you ever become a rooster. You will be sure to leave a lot of hens unsatisfied!”

The silence was deafening. Then it rained. Not a heavy pouring rain, but a light drizzle.

“Even your rain is wishy washy! Like diluted pussy water with no strength!” he yelled. “Come on! Flood me!”

After a while, even the drizzle stopped. Wen Yiji was wet to the skin, but he remained unmoving. The wind blew on his wet body and he felt cold. He decided to go back to his carriage. As he walked, he brushed against a thorny plant and the thorns pricked him. He cursed profoundly, leaving no doubt at what he thought of the plant’s mother and father. Taking a broadsword from his carriage, he went up to the thorny plant and started swinging the weapon. In no time, the plant was a heap of leaves and thorny stems.

Picking up a stout thorny stem, he removed some barbs from one end so that he could hold the stem with his hand. Then holding it by the smooth end, he brandished the thorny stem against the sky and shouted, “I have been a good man all my life. While many officials went their corrupted ways, I have always served the country and my emperor faithfully. Yet my liberty of six years was taken from me, my family members were taken from me, and now half of my body has been taken away from me! Where is your sense of justice? Show me the god who is responsible for my troubles and I will push this thorny stem up his ass!”

He waved the thorny stem violently fully expecting some kind of celestial response. There was none. Finally, in disgust, he threw the thorny stem onto the ground.

He went inside his carriage and slept.

In the morning, he woke up. Sleepily, he reached into his bag and pulled out his polished brass mirror so that he could comb his hair. A moment later, he was reminded of his semi-invisibility. He swore angrily. Then he felt depressed and went back to sleep again.

For three days, he woke up in order to sleep. The sad truth had hit him that life was not possible for a semi-invisible man. Depression engulfed him and he wanted to die. He thought of his sister Xiang Xiang. He had yet to fulfill the duty required of an elder brother; the arrangement for his sister to be married off to a good family. Damn! He wished that he had made all the necessary arrangements before all this had happened. It was too late now. There was no way that he could ever be part of human society. His life was over. He turned over and tried to sleep. He would lay there till death claimed him. With luck he might die in peace in his sleep.

+ + + + + +

In Tsinkiang, a dejected Kotekichi walked aimlessly about in town. He was the lst remaining swordsman of the Kansai Killers. Through a secret contact, he had finally managed to send off a letter to Grandmaster Hattori by a pirate ship that was heading back to the eastern islands. In the letter, he detailed the deaths of the three Kansai Killers at the hands of a skilled Tsinkiang archer of the surname Wen. Tsinkiang was not small and he did not have any luck finding anyone of the surname Wen. There were lots of Wongs and Wangs, but no Wen.

Kotekichi did not like Tsinkiang. He thought that the women there were rude. Each time he visited a courtesan house, the women would snigger openly at the small size of his equipment. Even when he was busy pumping away, one insensitive woman kept on asking, “Inside already or not? Why I cannot feel wan?”

He would have slain the woman, but he knew that Grandmaster Hattori would want him to keep a low profile until the archer was located. There was nothing that he could do until the archer was found. No, he did not like Tsinkiang.

+ + + + + +

A very despondent Wen Yiji woke up from his sleep. He felt like shit. Actually, he felt like shitting more than he felt like shit. He had not eaten in days, so he wondered idly where the shit was going to come from. Sleep was impossible when one needed to shit. Thus, he got up and walked to the most convenient bush. Just as he was about to undo his pants, he heard a sound. It was a footfall. Someone was in the vicinity.

A figure walked stealthily among the trees towards the carriage. He carried a pair of strange looking clubs in his hands. However, it was his face that drew Wen Yiji’s attention. It was hideous. The face was disfigured by marks and strange nodular growths.

“Stranger, if you are looking for food, I have some potatoes,” Wen Yiji called out.

The stranger looked in his direction. He could not see Wen Yiji as the torso was invisible while the visible legs were behind the bush.

“You must be behind the bush,” said the stranger looking in Wen Yiji’s direction.

“Yes, I am behind the bush, trying to shit,” replied Wen Yiji. “Please don’t come near.”

“Trying to shit? Good! Good! Good! Good! Good!” said the stranger. “I will wait until you finish shitting.”

“You don’t have to wait,” said Wen Yiji. “Just climb into my carriage and take what you want.”

“What I want is not inside the carriage. Have you finished shitting yet?”

“Naaaah….now I cannot shit.”

“Damn! Curses!”

“What is it to you whether I shit or not?”

“I hate to have shit in my lunch!”

“I don’t understand.”

“I wish to invite you for lunch.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You are the lunch.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Good. Stupid people taste better than intelligent ones!”

“I don’t understand.”

“Never mind. You are probably too stupid to understand even if I explain it to you.”

Wen Yiji pondered the insult. He did not like to be called stupid. Yet it was his own stupidity that caused him to become half-invisible. Yes, he was stupid. Incredibly stupid! No one in his right mind would learn a strange martial art without completely understanding the effects. He looked at the stranger. He understood that for some reason, the ugly stranger seemed intent on eating him.

Finally, he said, “I still don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?” asked the hideous man.

“If you wish to eat me, why did you tell me? Are you not afraid that I may run away?”

“Oh no!” replied the stranger. “I would like you to try to run away. I always enjoy a good chase before I cook. It gives me an appetite.”

“You may not catch me.”

“Ha! I can catch anything in this forest! I know it like the back of my hand! No one escapes me. I will give you a generous head start, but in the end I will still catch you.”

“Who are you?”

“I am the one they called the “Lao Chio Monster”. The one that everyone fears.”

“The Lao Chio Monster? What Chio and what Monster? Never heard of you. Sorry, but you are not that famous.”

“It does not matter. Once you finish shitting, the hunt will begin.”

“Again, I don’t understand.”

“What? After all the explanation I just gave you? How can you not understand?”

“I don’t understand why you are so damn hideous,” replied Wen Yiji cooly. “Do you have leprosy?”

“I am not damn hideous, you stupid mouth!” shouted the stranger angrily.

“Oh yes you are! Your face is repulsive,” replied Wen Yiji. “I may be stupid, but Confucius said that it is better to die stupid than to live like a hideous piece of deformed dung!”

“Confucius never said that!”

“Sure, he did! And another thing; even if I am stupid, I can always learn from experience and get smarter. You, on the other hand cannot learn to become less hideous!”

“That is where you are wrong. Every physical form has an energy pattern. The lumps of growth that are on my face are caused by some weird energy. I can use my internal energy to suppress this weird energy and I will become handsome.”

“If you use your internal energy to suppress this weird energy, the weird energy will disperse and then you will get lumps everywhere!”

“That is what you think! I can always block the weird energy at an energy passage where it is unable to disperse.”

“I doubt if such a thing can be done,” commented Wen Yiji. “You are too ugly too be improved. You are so hideous that I bet you have to tie a mouse around your neck so that the cats will play with you.”

“I hate cats. But dogs like to come near me.”

“Of course they will like to come near you. Your face is so damn ugly that it scares the fleas away from them.”

“Damn you!” shouted the Lao Chio Monster. “Let me show you my handsome face!”

Without delay, the Lao Chio Monster exerted his internal energy and his face suddenly turned normal; all the unusual lumps of facial growth had vanished.

“There, I am handsome now!” declared the Lao Chio Monster. “Can see or not, stupid?”

“I will not call you handsome,” said Wen Yiji. “But you are definitely slightly less ugly than before. Why don’t you remain this way all the time instead of looking like a leper?”

“If I were to use my internal energy this way, I will not have energy left for any other things. I use it only when I have no choice, like when I need to go to town to buy soya sauce.”

“So, you are forced to live in this forest like a monster, away from people. Thus you hate people, and that makes you want to eat them. Is that it?”

“Do not try to psychoanalyze me. I eat humans because I like the taste and I live in the forest by choice. There is plenty of wood here for cooking. Once in a while, I will capture a human and the food will last me for two weeks.”

“You are an evil monster.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lunch.”

“It wasn’t a compliment,” said Wen Yiji. Although he felt despondent about living, he had no wish to be eaten by the Lao Chio Monster. Somehow, there was something very nauseatingly wrong with the idea.

“Have you finished shitting yet? If you have, get ready to run!” suggested the Lao Chio Monster.

“Whatever for? I’ll rather stand and fight you.”

“You have better run. If I catch you, I will tie you up and boil you alive slowly. That way, your flesh will be freshly cooked.”

“Stop it! You are making me sick!”

“Start running. Ready or not here I come!”

The Lao Chio Monster’s face turned hideous again as he leapt over the bush even as Wen Yiji leapt away from the spot. The Lao Chio Monster saw a flash of legs leaping away and he leapt after them. Wen Yiji jumped over a tree followed by the Lao Chio Monster. Both men landed in a clearing.

“You have no body!” exclaimed the Lao Chio Monster in surprise.

“Yes,” said Wen Yiji. “Are you afraid?”

“Afraid? Har har! No!” said the Lao Chio Monster. “A pair of legs is a pair of drumsticks to me! What I cannot understand is how you can speak if you have no body. Wait! I know. You must be talking through your ass!”

“Do you see my ass?”

“No.”

“Then how can you say that I am talking through my ass if you don’t see my ass!”

“Ya hor……errr……what are you talking with, if I may ask?”

“You won’t be able to understand even if I explain it to you. You are demented. Sick and demented. And damn ugly. Nabeh…….if I were you, I would have killed myself twenty times already!”

“This must be some sort of illusion. Somehow you are able to give the illusion that you have no body. You may fool others but you don’t fool me!”

“I am not trying to fool you. I really do not know what I am. Right now, I do not even know if I am a freak or a monster.”

“I think I know what you are, Mr Lunch.”

“You do?”

“Yes. You are a creature who has escaped from a mao shan sifu. Those mao shan wizards practise the dark arts and are known to have weird creatures such as vampires under their control.”

“If I am a vampire, then you must be very afraid of me right now.”

“Har har har! Afraid? I have the all-powerful five thunder talisman that protects me against vampires!”

“What in hell is the five thunder talisman?”

“You are too stupid to understand such things, so I will not even try to explain!”

Wen Yiji retorted, “And you are too ugly to explain such things, so I will not even try to understand!”

In anger, the Lao Chio Monster threw one of his clubs at Wen Yiji who ducked.

“You missed!” said Wen Yiji. “That was a lousy throw!”

The club sped past Wen Yiji, spinned in the air in a circle and then came from behind and headed back towards Wen Yiji again. He heard it, and jumped aside. He was not quite fast enough and the spinning club caught him a glancing blow on the shoulder.

“Ahhhh….” he cried. “Kanineh…..what kind of evil weapon is that? Can fly back like that!”

“Har har!” laughed the Lao Chio Monster. “I call it the Boomerlang!”

“Boomerlang? What a ridiculous name!” said Wen Yiji. He picked up the fallen club and threw it powerfully at the Lao Chio Monster but the club flew into the air, spinned around and then headed back straight for him. He had to run. The spinning club chased after him and he hit it with a palm blast. His palm blast was weak but it caused the spinning club to wobble and it headed to the nearest tree where it crashed into the branches.

The next moment Wen Yiji had to run again as another spinning club headed his way. The Lao Chio Monster had thrown the second club. This time, Wen Yiji leapt over the club and palm blasted it from above. The club spinned low and then hit the ground. It bounced back into the air and banged into a bush where it came to rest.

A rope came out of nowhere and snagged Wen Yiji’s right leg. He grabbed hold of the rope and pulled. At the other end of the rope was the Lao Chio Monster.

It became a test of strength as both men pulled on the rope. Wen Yiji should have been the stronger of the two, but he had already gone for three days without food. The Lao Chio Monster reeled him in steadily. Wen Yij’s leg became unsnagged just as the two men were almost at arm’s length apart. Wen Yiji released the rope suddenly and the Lao Chio Monster stumbled backwards a few steps.

As the Lao Chio Monster looked up again, he saw that Wen Yiji had disappeared.

“Hey, where are you?” he cried. “Come on! I thought you wanted to stand and fight! Not run and hide!”

Wen Yiji was standing behind another bush. He knew that his legs were hidden behind the bush and could not be seen. His body was above the bush but that part was invisible. He closed his eyes to half-slits. Perhaps, if he did not move, the Lao Chio Monster would not know where he was. Then he waited to see what the Lao Chio Monster would do.

The Lao Chio Monster looked around him as if listening to something. Then he stared in Wen Yiji’s direction, laughed and said, “I know this forest like the back of my hand. I know the sounds it makes and I know when the sounds are absent. From the sounds of the insects, I will say that you are there!” He pointed in Wen Yiji’s direction.

Wen Yiji swore softly. In his current half-starved state, he was weaker than his adversary and he did not know the forest at all. The Lao Chio Monster would catch him, overpower him and boil him. It was a fate he did not wish to contemplate. He needed a weapon to fight back. His arrows! They were still in the carriage. He must make his way to his carriage fast. He could not see the carriage from where he was, but he roughly knew its direction.

He ran.

In his haste, he had misjudged his direction and ran the wrong way. He quickly realized his mistake and changed directions. Unfortunately, the Lao Chio Monster guessed at once where he was heading.

Wen Yiji saw his carriage. Then he noticed the Lao Chio Monster running towards it as well. He could not hope to reach his carriage before his hideous opponent. He needed a weapon fast. He passed by the fallen thorny stem, so he bent down to pick it up on the run. It wasn’t a very good weapon but it would have to do for the moment.

The Lao Chio Monster reached the carriage and saw Wen Yiji’s legs heading in his direction. Suddenly, he saw Wen Yiji’s legs swerved away into a different direction. The Lao Chio Monster lunged and tried to grab a leg with his right hand. His hand grabbed something, but it wasn’t a leg. It was the thorny stem.

“Ahhhhh……you stupid bitch!” he screamed as the spiky barbs of the thorns bit into his palm painfully. It was like clutching a handful of needles. He hopped around in pain as he gingerly tried to remove the thorny stem from his hand.

Wen Yiji took the opportunity to grab his bow and arrows from the carriage. He loaded an arrow and took a quick aim. Then he shot off an arrow. The hopping Lao Chio Monster looked up and then tried to leap away. He was too late; the arrow hit him in the left arm and spun him around. The movement caused him to grip tighter on the thorny stem and he screamed in agony again. Both hands had already been rendered useless. The unthinkable occurred to him; he would have to run and escape.

The Lao Chio Monster leapt quickly away from his position and then over a tree. An arrow sped its way through the branches and hit him in the back. The ugly man crashed down to the ground and a third arrow buried itself into his head. The Lao Chio Monster laid unmoving on the ground, his life ebbing away fast.

Wen Yiji approached.

“You are a psychotic monster of immense proportions; killing people for food just because you like the taste. You are so sick in the head that you will make a cockroach puke,” he said in disgust. “You know, you shouldn’t have said that you wanted to boil me alive. It is not civilized. And it makes me lose my appetite!”

The dying monster could only glare in hatred at his conqueror’s legs.

“You called me a stupid bitch,” said Wen Yiji. “Guess what…...who is the bitch now? Huh? Who is the bitch now?”

The Lao Chio Monster tried to curse, but no words came out of his mouth.

“I called you 'damn ugly' just now,” continued Wen Yiji. “And guess what…..na beh…..you are still damn ugly! Some things never change!”

Walking around the body, he unleashed an arrow that penetrated the top of the Lao Chio Monster’s head and so ended the life of the man-eating monster.

Wen Yiji looked up towards the heavens and shouted, “See what I have to do for you? Killing monsters is your job, not mine!”

He walked back towards the carriage. Something that the Lao Chio Monster had said sprang to his mind.

“Maybe I can also use my internal energy to suppress the invisibility energy, the way that the Lao Chio Monster used it to suppress his weird energy,” he discussed with himself. “And he blocked the weird energy at an energy passage where it was unable to disperse.”

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he closed his eyes and mentally scanned his body, feeling each muscle and each bit of flesh. In time, he located a strange energy in his body. He followed the path of the energy and found out where it ran. There was a part where it ran through a narrow channel.

“This could be it,” he thought to himself. “This could be the spot where I can block the Invisibility Energy!”

Breathing deep, he summoned his Dark Fire Inner Energy and blocked the strange energy flow in the narrow channel. He felt a pressure within as the two energies opposed the flow of each other and fought to a standstill. He opened his eyes and looked around. The world was brighter than just a moment ago. He pulled out his brass mirror and stared at his reflection.

“Yes!” he shouted. “Yes! I am visible again!”

With two opposing energies countering each other within his body, he realized that the situation was far from healthy, but it offered him a temporary respite from his problem. He was elated.

“I shall journey to the next town,” he declared. “And then I shall buy the best wine that money can buy and get drunk! Thoroughly drunk!”

Chapter 11 Yee Ng Chai

The journey from the dark forest to the town of Qinghe took a greater effort than Wen Yiji expected. He had to use his Dark Fire internal energy to block the Invisibility energy all the way. It was exhausting work. Several times during the journey, he had to stop the carrriage and climb into it so that no one would see him. Then he rested his Dark Fire internal energy. In doing so, he became semi-visible Once he had rested sufficiently, he exerted the Dark Fire internal energy to block the Invisibility energy again, climbed out to the front of the carriage and continued travelling. It was an energy-sapping way of travelling, but he managed.

On reaching the town of Qinghe, he set out to look for an inn. He needed to rest.

"I don't think I will look for Yee Ng Chai," he mumbled to himself. "I have more troubles than I can handle. No point going to look for further trouble. Besides, the death of my compatriots happened a long time ago. No sense in digging up old stuff, is there?"

He looked at his horse as if expecting an answer. The horse ignored him and plodded along. It too had its own share of troubles; having to transport a freaky rider who occasionally looked only half-visible.

He got to an inn and took an upstairs room. He immediately locked the door securely from inside and took a long nap in his semi-invisible state. When he woke up, he exerted his Dark Fire inner energy to become visible. Then he went downstairs to the inn's dining hall to order some food. He was hungry.

He sat down at an empty table. A young, fat waiter approached him.

“I want a chicken,” he told the waiter. “Steamed chicken. And I want it fast.”

“Sorry,” said the fat waiter. “Can’t do that.”

“All right,” said Wen Yiji. “I want a duck then. And I want it fast.”

“Can’t do that either,” replied the waiter grimly.

“Chicken cannot do. Duck also cannot do. What is this place known for?”

“Chicken and duck," replied the waiter seriously.

Wen Yiji stared at the fat waiter and said, "You are bluffing me, right?"

"No," replied the waiter. "I don't bluff. Everybody here call me Honest Niu because they know that I don't bluff. I am a very moral person. I believe that morality is very, very important."

"Okay, Honest Niu. First you said that chicken and duck cannot do. Then you said that this place is known for chickens and ducks! I want the truth!"

"Chickens and ducks can do. But you wanted it fast! That, we cannot do.”

“Ohhh……I understand now. Your cook is damn slow, is it?”

“No, our cook is fast, really fast. But he is off today to attend to some personal matter. So my boss is doing the cooking. He is damn slow.”

“I am very hungry. What do you suggest?”

“If you want something good, I suggest you go somewhere else to eat. My boss's cooking is hopeless. Actually, worse than hopeless.”

"My God, you are honest!"

"Of course! I am Honest Niu. Morality is very important to me!"

“Look, Honest Niu. I am very hungry and I want something fast. Not necessary to be good.”

“If you want something fast, we have some ready-made steamed dumplings. No need to wait.”

“All right. Bring me the dumplings,” ordered Wen Yiji.

The waiter brought out a big plate full of dumplings. He placed them on the table and said. “The bill will be charged according to how many dumplings you eat. Big dumpling, small dumpling all same price.”

“The big ones are three times the size of the small one. I will take the big ones for sure. But how will you know how many I have eaten?” asked Wen Yiji.

“There are fifteen dumplings here. I will come back to count the balance remaining after you have finished. Please do not put any half eaten dumplings back on the plate.”

“As if I would do a thing like that!”

“Hard to say. I give you warning first.”

“Kanineh…..want to eat also must have warning. Go away and let me eat in peace!”

Wen Yiji ate five huge dumplings. The waiter came back and counted the balance.

“Ten dumplings remaining. Fifteen minus ten is two. You owe me two coins,” he told Yiji.

“Are you sure that your arithmetic is correct?” asked an incredulous Wen Yiji.

“Of course!” replied the waiter. “Do you question my arithmetic?”

“No, but if you continue like this, your boss’s business will be colder than water," said Wen Yiji.

“Listen,” whispered the waiter. “My boss is with the cook’s wife in the kitchen. What he is doing to her, I am doing to his business!”

“Ah…..I see,” said Wen Yiji with a knowing smile. “You don’t approve of sex. Because you are a very moral person!”

“No! No!” exclaimed the waiter vehemently. “It's just that the cook is my very best friend!”

“I understand now,” said Wen Yiji. “You don’t approve of his wife’s immoral actions with your immoral boss.”

“That is right! If anyone is using my best friend’s wife, it ought to be me! I want to bang her very hard at least ten times!”

“What?” asked a shocked Wen Yiji. "I thought you said that morality is very important to you?"

"Oh, all right," said the waiter graciously. "Make that just slightly hard and only nine times!"

“Sheeeesh.....never mind. Do you have any good wine in the inn?”

“No,” replied the waiter. “Our wine is watered down. It tastes like dog piss!”

“How can the wine be watered down?”

“Sometimes the cook steals a drink from a pot of wine and then he tops it up with well water after that, thinking that the boss will not know the difference.”

“Na beh…..like that also got. Your cook is very immoral. Does your boss know?”

“Oh, he knows! But he still sells the watered down wine for normal price!”

"Wa piang," said Wen Yiji. "Most people would have tried to sell me the watered down wine, but you did not. You really are honest!"

"Of course! I am Honest Niu!"

“I really need a good drink," said Wen Yiji. "Where is the best wine shop in town?”

“That would be Yam Seng’s Wine Shop, on the other side of the Buhou bridge.”

“Is it far?”

“Just a few hundred steps from here. You can see the Buhou bridge from the door. Cross it and you should see a shop selling cotton fabrics on your right. Opposite it would be the wine shop.”

Wen Yiji's was suddenly at full attention. That sounded very much like where Yee Ng Chai was seen by Squirrel Beard.

"Shop selling cotton fabrics?" he asked. "Who owns the place?"

"It belongs to a Master Yee Sang," replied the waiter. "His cotton fabrics are the best in the town. You should go there and buy some."

Oh, so it wasn't Yee Ng Chai, but a certain Yee Sang. Anyway, it did not matter as he had already decided not to pursue the matter. He thanked the waiter and then headed over the nearby Buhou bridge to the wine shop. It was already close to dusk. It would be dark soon.

On reaching the wine shop, he sat down at an empty table and asked for the best wine.

An old man approached him and asked, "I am Master Yam Seng, the proprietor. Would you like to try a specialty wine?"

"Pleased to meet you, Master Yam Seng," said Wen Yiji. "What kind of specialty wine do you have?"

"I have scorpion wine!" replied Mater Yam Seng. "Very potent! The scorpions are immersed in rice wine and then sealed for a number of years. This wine can strengthen your bones and tendons and also help to combat general fatigue."

"Say! That is good! Do you use organic scorpions? I heard that they are the best!"

"Ahhh......you are a discerning customer. I use only the best scorpions," beamed Yam Seng proudly. "Free ranging scorpions, not farm bred inferior ones grown in cages."

"Of course," agreed Wen Yiji. "Free range scorpions are the best! Let me have a pot of your best scorpion wine for starters!"

“We have two types; the VSOP and the XO version.”

“Gimme the XO version.”

The pot of wine was brought before Wen Yiji and he started drinking. Soon, he finished the whole pot of wine and was feeling slightly drunk.

Master Yam Seng approached him and asked, “Would you like a second pot?”

“Yes,” replied Wen Yiji. “Bring me two pots. I will take it back to drink.”

“Good idea!” said Yam Seng. “You will not regret this purchase. Many travelers come to this place just to buy my wine.”

“If the stuff is good, there will be no end of buyers,” commented Wen Yiji. “Everyone is always looking out for a good purchase.”

“True, true. If you are looking for a good purchase, may I recommend the cloth shop opposite. Those who know will go there to buy the cotton fabrics,” said the wine shop proprietor.

“You own that shop as well?” asked Wen Yiji.

“No, no!” laughed the proprietor. “It has nothing to do with me. But the fabrics they sell there is really good quality. Cheap also. I thought that you may want to know, since you are looking for a good purchase.”

“Who owns it?”

“A certain Master Yee Sang owns it.”

“Do you know him well? Do you think he will give me a discount if I buy in quantity?”

“Actually, I don’t know him well at all,” said Master Yam Seng. “He seldom comes out of his shop.”

“Even so, you should know him very well since you are both from the same area.”

“Well, I know everyone else well enough. But Master Yee came here with his family only seven years ago. This is a quiet area and the house was empty. He rented it cheaply and then later bought it from the owner.”

Seven years ago! The piece of news struck Wen Yiji as being highly coincidental; he last saw Yee Ng Chai seven years ago. Could Yee Sang and Yee Ng Chai be the same person? People have been known to change their names.

After paying for his drinks, he took his two pots of wine and walked out onto the road. He headed back towards the inn where he was staying. The road was dark by this time and the moon was not visible. In the far off distance he could see a couple of figures walking about using a tiny lantern for light. Other than that, there was nobody around.

“Damn!” he said, wrestling mentally with himself. “I should at least check if Yee Sang and Yee Ng Chai are both the same person. After all, I am already so near!”

Another thought assailed him, “If they are both the same person…..so what? Am I going to accuse him of something without proof? After a period of seven years? And if he did betray us, should I kill him? Can I really kill a former comrade-in-arms?”

He walked another two steps, paused and breathed, “Nabeh…..I got to know. With my freaky bodily condition, I may die any time. How can I go to my death without knowing if we had been betrayed?”

Finally, he came to a decision. He hid his two pots of wine in the shadows and turned off his Dark Fire inner energy that kept him visible. He would need his inner energy free for lightness kungfu if he were to go check up on Yee Sang. In the dark night, only his legs were visible, and only at a close distance.

He went over to the cotton fabric shop and leapt up high. Over the wall he flew and landed on the roof. Then, he flipped himself down to the inner courtyard. He felt a bit dizzy when he landed on the ground beside a bush. Perhaps he should not have drunk so much scorpion wine. He looked around him. Master Yee Sang ought to be in one of those back rooms. The master of the house usually stayed at the back. But which room?

A servant with a lighted lantern came along the corridor and delivered a pot of tea to one of the rooms. He came out, and as he left, he said to someone inside, “Goodnight, Master Yee.”

The sound of the servant’s footsteps then faded as he walked away.

Quickly, Wen Yiji moved to the door of the room and pushed it open. His plan was to go in, take a quick look at Yee Sang, and then get out. It ought to be over in an instant. He moved inside the room and swiftly looked around him. The room was lighted by two lanterns but he did not see anyone.

“Strange,” he thought to himself. “Where is Master Yee Sang?”

He walked towards the bed and at that moment, a figure came out from behind a wooden screen where he had been changing clothes.

Wen Yiji was shocked. The face that looked in his direction was that of Yee Ng Chai! So, Yee Sang was Yee Ng Chai!

If Wen Yiji was shocked, Yee Ng Chai was even more shocked. All he saw was a pair of legs moving in front of him. He froze in terror. Then he trembled from head to toe. He tried to shout in terror, but he could not.

Watching him trembling in deep fright, Wen Yiji realised that Yee Ng Chai must have thought that he was seeing a ghost. He remembered that there was one dead compatriot whose voice sounded like him. Wan Tan; that was his name. It was time to get the truth out of the cotton cloth maker.

"Yee Ng Chai," cried Wen Yiji in a faraway voice. "I have died a terrible death! Yee Ng Chai!"

"Who are you?" mouthed Yee Ng Chai wordlessly.

"I am…….Wan Tan, your former compatriot."

"Bro...brother Wan Tan?" gasped Yee Ng Chai in a soft whimpering voice.

"I, Wan Tan have died a terrible death! Hic. Why did you betray us?"

"You knew I betrayed you?"

"There are no secrets in Hell. Hic! We know everything! Ooooooooooh.........why did you betray us?"

"Brother Wan Tan, I am sorry! I had not meant for any of you to die! I am sorry. So sorry!"

"No matter how sorry you are, the fact is we are all dead. Ooooooooh.......why did you betray us? Why? Why? Tell me why?"

Yee Ng Chai suddenly knelt down in front of him and said, “These past years, my heart had not been easy, knowing that I had betrayed you, betrayed Chief Feng, and betrayed my friends. I have dishonoured my name. I knew that this day would come….that I would pay for my actions.”

The free admission of guilt by Yee caught wen Yiji off guard. He had expected some form of denial at least. He wished his head was clearer. The scorpion wine was starting to exert its effects.

“You will….. hic……pay for what you did…..pay and pay! Your family will also pay,” he intoned. “Even your dogs must pay!”

“Brother Wan,” said Yee Ng Chai. “I will take responsibility for what I did. Take my life if you wish. But please leave my family alone. I beseech you.”

“A ghost has no mercy,” replied Wen Yiji. “Tonight, you will enter Hell.”

“I am ready to enter Hell,” cried Yee Ng Chai. “But I beg you not to harm my family. Not even a strand of hair.”

”Are you trying to negotiate with me?”

“No, I am appealing to your sense of justice. I am the one that wronged you, not them.”

“You still have not told me why you wronged us! Were we not your friends?”

“You were all my friends!” said Yee Ng Chai. “But I had a sick wife to look after.”

“What has that to do with us?”

“Seven years ago, my wife fell sick with a strange illness. Her medicinal herbs were expensive and soon, there was not enough money in the house to feed my family. The daifu who had been treating her then recommended that I go to Ah Long’s gambling den to take a gamble. He said that if I did not, there was no way that I could afford medicine for my wife. So, I headed to Ah Long’s gambling den to take a gamble. It was a setup. I lost whatever I had. Ah Long then loaned me some money and I gambled again. And lost again. Ah Long then demanded his payment back with interest. I could not even pay the interest let alone the principle sum. He had me beaten up by his men. After that he said that if I was willing to do a thing for him, he would forget my loan. I found out that he wanted me to report the route that Chief Feng was going to take for the Jade Lion trip. I refused to do so. Ah Long then said that if I were willing, he would give me one thousand taels of silver. It was a very good sum. With the money I could afford medicine for my wife. I demanded that he give me the money first, but he said that he would give me half first and half later, after I had completed the job.”

“And so, you betrayed us. For one thousand taels of silver.”

“I did not think that the result would be so devastating. I suspected that Ah Long would try to rob our shipment. But I thought that with the skills of our group, we could easily kill of our attackers. Chief Feng had good iron palm technique. The Chin brothers could kill the most persistent attacker. And Arrow Eye could hit anything with his arrows. What was there to fear? I thought that I could safely betray the route and nobody would find out about it. It turned out that I was wrong. The ones who attacked us were so highly skilled that many of us lost our lives.”

“How did you betray the route? Only Chief Feng knew the route he was going to take.”

“Nobody knew how Chief Feng picked his routes. But I had worked with Chief Feng long enough to know the way his mind worked. Before he decided on a particular hill crossing, I already knew how he would do it. It was easy to guess the route he was about to take. Sometimes he would surprise me by doing something different, but most times, I would be correct. I left notes hidden under stones along the route. The notes were picked up by someone following our trail and then sent ahead by a carrier pigeon. Thus, the robbers had sufficient time to make preparations to ambush us. I thought that if they attacked us, we would kill them easily and that would be the end of the matter. What I had not counted on was that they were powerful enough to kill so many of our team. Once I saw how many of our members had died, I realized the enormity of my actions.”

“And so, instead of going back to face the punishment from the emperor, you decided to go back to take the rest of your money before running away. Yes?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. Once the seriousness of the situation sunk in, I knew that Ah Long could not afford to leave me alive. Dead men tell no tales. He would seek to kill me and my family once I returned to the Imperial Capital to collect the remaining balance of five hundred taels from him. So, while travelling to the Imperial Capital with Brother Arrow Eye and the remaining members, I ran away one night so that I could reach the Imperial Capital before they did. I traveled night and day. When I reached my house two nights later, I scouted around and spotted two of Ah Long’s men keeping my house under surveillance. I knocked them out cold. Then I collected my family and got out of there fast before daybreak. The next day, Ah Long’s men went around town on horseback looking for me. However, I knew the back roads and so I left the Imperial Capital and came here.”

“Why here? Hic. Why this town?”

“We were passing through this town and my wife fell very ill. I knew that she could not travel on any more. So I rented this place very cheaply. My wife recovered. Her family used to be in the fabric making business and she still had the skills. So, we decided to open up a fabric making business to feed our family.”

“I see that business has been good and you have achieved prosperity.”

“Yes, business has been good. I finally bought this place from the owner. However, my wife passed away two years ago.”

“Did you remarry?”

“No. After her, I could never marry again. I decided to bring up our children on my own.”

Wen Yiji looked at the bed. It was obvious that Yee Ng Chai slept alone. He said, “Don’t worry, I will send you to join your wife in a moment.”

“You will not harm my children?”

“No.”

“Thank you! My eldest son is now fifteen. He is matured for his age. He is a good son and I am very proud of him. He will be able to take good care of his siblings once I am gone.”

“Only fifteen? He is but a boy.”

“He is a better man than I could ever be. He does not know of my shameful act. I do not wish him to know. It is every father’s wish that his son thinks well of his father and respect his memory. You cannot fault me for this.”

Wen Yiji swayed. He wished that the room would stay still instead of moving around. He would have not drunk so much scorpion wine if he had known that he was going to confront Yee Ng Chai. He steadied himself and the room stopped moving. He was at a loss on what to do next. Clearly, Yee Ng Chai was wrestling with his guilt while mourning the loss of his wife. Finally, he asked, “Who is this Ah Long?”

“He is a loan shark who operates several gambling dens in the Imperial City. He is a member of the Green Scorpion Sect. His biggest den is the Casino Royal. I heard that Prince Jin go there sometimes.”

The Casino Royal……Wen Yiji knew the place. It was a large den with lots of wine and women. He would have to pay Ah Long a visit.

“Can you give me some last moments with my family before you take my life?” requested Yee.

“Listen,” said Wen Yiji. “I am going to forgive you. But every year, during the festival of the Hungry Ghosts, I want you to put out a pot of wine for your dead comrades. Not just any wine. I want scorpion wine. Do you understand?”

“You are not killing me?” asked an incredulous Yee Ng Chai.

“No, I am not,” replied Wen Yiji. “But remember my instructions about the wine. Or you will find me haunting your family!”

With that, Wen Yiji stumbled out of the room, leapt to the roof top and was gone.

Yee Ng Chai remained there in the kneeling position. Finally, he bowed low several times and said gratefully, “Thank you, Brother Wan Tan! I will remember your instructions on the scorpion wine!”

Wen Yiji collected his two pots of wine where he had left them. Then he went back to the inn.

Once in his room, he opened a pot of wine and addressed his dead comrades one by one by name.

"Comrades and brothers," he said. "Perhaps I should have taken the life of Yee Ng Chai for betraying us all. But I could not. Please do not fault me. Whatever happened, happened a long time ago. Let us close this chapter instead. I instructed Yee Ng Chai to put out a pot of scorpion wine to you all once a year. You will like scorpion wine."

He poured out a cup of scorpion wine, raised it in the air and cried, "To you, fallen comrades! May the ox-head horse-face serve you good food, good wine all day long!"

He took a long drink and recited a poem.

"A cup of wine raised to the lips

Is joy in any season

Let me be forever drunk

And never come to reason."

Soon he was fast asleep.

Fifteen days later, he reached the Imperial City.

Chapter 12 : The counter plot of a sly concubine

The rhythmic creaking sounds of the bed under the weight of the couple on it filled the small room. Concubine Lin, who was under Prince Jin, suspected that the bed's warranty period had expired. She faked an orgasm at the appropriate moment and screamed,

"Yes.....oh yes! Yes! Ayoyoyo......yes!"

Prince Jin was none the wiser about the faking. He came with a rush inside her, emptying himself in three spurts until there was nothing left to empty.

Satisfied, he laid back and took a short nap. When he awoke, he saw that Concubine Lin was already dressed.

"Going back so soon?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

He stared at her pendulous breasts. He wondered how they could get that big. “What milk did you drink as a baby?” he finally asked.

“Elephant milk,” she replied.

“So that's your trade secret,” he murmured in wonderment.

“Sorry…..I beg your pardon?”

“Er…..nothing I was just mumbling to myself.”

“Do you have good news regarding the assassination of the Fifth Prince?” she asked. She was only in her early thirties, but was old enough to know that only the mother of the Emperor held real status. Thus, she would stop at nothing to ensure that her son, the Seventh Prince, became the next Emperor.

“Not yet,” he replied. “I was told that my hired foreign killers failed to assassinate him in Fujian Province. Half of the prince’s men were killed and the rest seemed to have disappeared from sight together with the prince. Even my other sources were unable to track them.”

“Where could they have gone?”

“They could be hiding, afraid to come out. Or they could be taking a secret route back to the Imperial Capital. I’ll have the Fifth Prince killed if he gets close to the capital. It should be easy; he only has a hundred men with him.”

“Good,” remarked Concubine Lin. “The Second and Fourth Princes are already dead. Meanwhile, we should be concentrating on how to get rid of the First, Third and Sixth Prince.”

“That will be difficult. The Imperial Palace is closely guarded and those chickenshit princes dared not venture out.”

“The Emperor will be travelling south to the Summer Palace soon to hunt deer,” noted the royal concubine. “The princes are expected to travel with him. They will be trying to prove their prowess in hunting. We should make use of this opportunity.”

“That is right,” said Prince Jin thoughtfully. “There is however, still one problem we have not solved.”

“What problem?”

“My men do not know what the First, Third and Sixth Princes look like. I will need to get one person close enough to see them so that he will be able to identify them later on.”

“You are right. Do you have any ideas?”

“Just one,” replied Prince Jin. “The Emperor is fond of listening to music recitals in the evenings during his hunting trips. We will need to arrange for one of my men to pose as a musician and perform at one of those recitals. The princes usually sit in front. My man will then be able to find out what they look like. Later on, he will arrange to have them killed off one by one in the Summer Palace. You will have to help get my musician inside. Who is in charge of royal entertainment programme?”

“Eunuch Kong,” she replied. “He is very fixed in his ways and will not agree to have just any musician play in front of the Emperor.”

“We will have to get rid of that stupid eunuch. In his absence, who will take charge?”

“Eunuch Lam. He is like a lamb. The best thing is that he listens to me,” said Concubine Lin.

“Good,” remarked Prince Jin, beaming. “Once Eunuch Kong has been made to disappear, you can tell Eunuch Lam that the list of musicians will include the name of the musician I send.”

“What is the name of your musician?”

“Chui La Pah.”

“Isn’t he the Flute Master?”

“Yes. But few people know him as the Flute Master. He will go there to play a song in front of the Emperor and at the same time find out what the princes look like. Later on, when everyone is asleep. he will find an opportunity to kill the First, Third and Sixth Prince. Then your son will be the sole surviving heir.”

“You forgot about the missing Fifth Prince.”

“The Fifth Prince will stay missing forever.”

“That is a very good plan!”

“Of course!” said Prince Jin with a smirk.

“Once my son becomes the next emperor, you will be handsomely rewarded!”

Prince Jin smiled inwardly and thought silently to himself, “You are merely my tool. I will be handsomely rewarded more than you can ever imagine, my dear woman!”

+ + + + + +

Royal Concubine Lin hurried back to the palace and summoned her son to meet with her. She told him what she had planned with Prince Jin.

“Your uncle, Prince Jin, will get Master Chui La Pah to pose as a musician to gain entry to the Summer Palace in order to kill off the other princes,” she told her son “I was told that Master Chui is a good flutist, so posing as a musician should not be a problem.”

“Yes, mother,” replied her son. “But somehow, I do not trust my uncle. He is planning something else, I think.”

“As long as he can arrange to kill off the other princes for us, we should be happy enough.”

“Of course, mother,” said her son. “I am on my way to see Master Sun Cheong. He just returned to the capital last night and is injured. I got him a daifu immediately. I did not get the opportunity to question him thoroughly yet, but he told me that he managed to kill off the Ghost Ninja.”

“Are his injuries serious?” asked the mother.

“In a way. His face is scarred and he will be limping for some time. But his Buddha Palm energy should be able to heal the body in time. I am on my way to question him now. Does mother wish to come?”

“Yes.”

Both mother and son met with Sun Cheong who was limping.

“Please excuse me, Royal Concubine Lin, for not being able to kneel in the proper manner in your presence,” said Sun Cheong humbly. “My leg has been broken in several places. It will heal in time, but meanwhile, my manners have been inconvenienced.”

“Do not stand on ceremony, Master Sun Cheong,” replied the royal concubine. She looked at his scarred face and then asked, “Who has the power to injure you?”

“I got into a fight with Master Chui La Pah just after I had killed the Ghost Ninja,” replied the bald man. “I am ashamed to say that I lost. His power has grown much more than I had expected. I only escaped because I faked death.”

“Hmmmmph,” thought Concubine Lin. “Chui La Pah. He serves Prince Jin.”

“Yes,” said Sun Cheong. “His Devil Flute produces the Sounds of Hell that can kill everything within range.”

“Sounds that can kill? That is most unusual. What is the killing range of the Devil Flute?” she asked.

“I do not know,” he replied. “I know that it is more than forty steps. If I were to guess, I would say that it would be about fifty steps.”

“Can anyone be that powerful?” asked the busty Concubine Lin.

Master Sun Cheong tore his glance away from her chest long enough to answer, “Do not underestimate the Flute Master. I was injured by him. Even my Buddha Palm energy could not subdue the effects of his Devil Flute. The moment he blows his flute, every one within range will die right there."

“What about ear plugs,” asked Concubine Lin. “Will they stop the Sounds of Hell?”

“Maybe,” replied Sun Cheong. “I tried closing my ears with my hands, but the effect was minimal. Somehow, the sound was able to get through. Then I tried using internal energy to suppress the effect of the sounds. All to no avail.”

“The presence of the Flute Master is a danger to us all," remarked Concubine Lin. "Can he be killed?”

“Of course,” replied Sun Cheong. “You will need a team of archers. His Devil Flute has a range of fifty steps. An archer's range is more than a hundred steps. The archers will have to stay out of range of the Devil Flute and keep shooting. The Flute Master will try to evade those arrows. The teams of archers will have to take turns to keep him occupied. The Flute Master will need to rest at some point in time. And sooner or later, a lucky shot will kill him. You will need several teams of archers to shoot volley after volley of arrows at him. That way, you can kill him!”

Concubine Lin looked thoughtful. Her son opened his mouth to say something but she hushed him up. She then dismissed Sun Cheong.

When she was alone with her son, they held a short discussion.

"If Chui La Pah plays his Devil Flute during the evening's entertainment, everybody will die, as we will all be sitting less than fifty steps away. I think my uncle Prince Jin wants us all dead so that he can take over the kingdom! That treacherous rat! I was right not to trust him."

"Your uncle may be tracherous, but he can also be useful."

"We will foil his plans by not allowing Chui La Pah to play his flute for us."

"No, we will go ahead with the plan.This is a good opportunity to kill off all the other princes."

"But I will die!"

"Not if you are not present at the music recitals," replied his mother.

"How can I not be present?" he asked. "Father will expect every prince to be seated in the first row."

"You can always fake a hunting accident. The Emperor will excuse you if he thinks that you are too injured to attend."

"By the fates, you are right, mother! Then after the recitals are over, I will be the only one of the royal sons left alive!"

"That is why we will not stop Chui La Pah and his Devil Flute."

"But, wait a minute. The Emperor will be at the recital. He will also die! I am his son. I should not let him die!"

“Everybody will have to die some time,” declared the concubine unfeelingly.

“But mother,” said the Seventh Prince. “He is my father!”

Concubine gave her son a steely stare and asked, "This is the perfect opportunity. We may not get it again. Do you want to become the Emperor or not?"

“Yes I do” declared her son emphatically. He marveled at the cold-bloodedness of his mother and was in a way shocked.

"If the Emperor and your brothers die during the recital, you will be the next emperor automatically. Do you understand?'

"Yes mother."

"I leave you to make the choice. Do you wish to go ahead with the plan knowing that your father will be killed?"

"Yes," replied the Seventh Prince softly. "Yes. I will be Emperor!"

“What about your father?”

“As you said, everybody will have to die some time.”

"Good. In that case, we will go through with the plan. You will fake a hunting accident at the last minute and absent yourself during the recital. I will try to get away from the recital with the excuse that I have to tend to you."

"If the Emperor does not allow you to get away, you will be killed by the Sounds of Hell. Have you thought of that, mother?"

"Yes," she replied. "I will take that chance. But I will have a pair of ear plugs made just in case."

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji was tired as he drove his carriage into the city. Day after day of internal battling between the Dark Fire energy and the Invisibility energy just to keep him visible had extracted a toll on him.

It had been drizzling on and off the whole day. Then the rain got heavier and heavier making travel difficult. He decided to stop at a restaurant to have some food. He spotted an empty table and walked towards it.

“Master Wen!” a voice called out.

He looked. Two tables away was Ah Keong with a group of men. Ah Keong was a cousin of the Chin brothers. He was also the jailor in the Li-Khor prison where Wen Yiji and the Chin brothers were once imprisoned for six years. Wen Yiji smiled. He was grateful to Ah Keong. It was Ah Keong who ensured that he had adequate food and water in prison and that prevented Wen Yiji and the Chin brothers from starving to death.

A figure came into the restaurant from the back where the toilets were. It was Warden Sai, the warden of the infamous Li-Khor Prison. Wen Yiji remembered him.

“Well, well, well,” said the warden in a squeaky voice. “So you are still alive! I had thought that the devil would have collected you by now!”

“Warden Sai!” greeted Wen Yiji. “Your remarks are still as venomous as ever! Some things never change. Except your voice. That has changed.”

“That was caused by you,” remarked the warden in anger. “You kicked in my balls on the day you left!”

“Ahhhhh…..I remember now,” said Wen Yiji. “You had me beaten without reason while I was in prison. Kicking your balls in was the least I could do. Did your sex life improve after that?”

The warden snarled, “I swore that I would get even with you one day.”

“It will not be this day,” said Wen Yiji flatly.

“On the contrary, it will be today that I get even,” declared the warden.

“No, no, no!” protested Wen Yiji. “Today is not a good day!”

“And why not?”

“Because it will be very bad!”

“And why will it be very bad?”

“Because today will not be good.”

“And why won’t today be good?”

“Because today is very bad!”

“And why is today…….ta ma de……I have no idea what you are talking about!” declared the warden. “Today will be a good day because today, you will get your balls kicked in!”

“Look,” said Wen Yiji. “I do not have so much free time to waste here all day arguing with you. I am delivering something of high importance to the Emperor. Very important! You better not do any thing rash or you will regret it later.”

“You are lying!” snarled the warden. “You are an ex-convict and the Emperor will have nothing to do with you.”

The warden gave a signal and all his men rushed at Wen Yiji; all his men except Ah Keong. He sat at the table too shocked to move.

Wen Yiji picked up a stool and fought them off as best as he could. However, he was weak and one of the warden’s men kicked him from behind. He fell and the men pounced on him.

Wen Yiji contemplated using the remnant of his Dark Fire inner energy to fight. However, doing so would mean that he would not be able to maintain full visibility. Once the news got out that he was half-invisible, he would be a hunted man throughout the land. Even his sister would not be safe anymore. Moreover, his Dark Fire inner energy was almost depleted, having been expended in fighting the Invisibility energy all day. No, this was one battle where he could not win. He would have to endure having his balls kicked in.

Warden Sai laughed maniacally as his men held up Wen Yiji roughly in front of him.

Piak!

He slapped Wen Yiji across the mouth.

Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak!

A series of slaps caused Wen Yiji to bleed at the lips.

“Ooooooompfff!” grunted Yiji as Warden Sai landed a heavy punch to his stomach.

Swinging his arms, the warden landed a few more punches forcefully.

“Ha! Ha!” laughed Warden Sai in his squeaky voice. “Look who’s laughing now! Ha! Ha! Now wait for my kick in your balls. After that, your voice will change and you won’t be able to have sex anymore! Ha! Ha!”

Wen Yiji braced his balls for the warden’s kick.

“Wait!” shouted Ah Keong. “Wait! If he is really delivering something of high importance to the Emperor, then we will all be in trouble! Deep trouble!”

The warden hesitated for a moment. Then he snarled at Ah Keong, “Stay out of this!”

Ah Keong walked up to the man holding Wen Yiji’s right arm and pulled his hands roughly away, saying, “We will all have our heads chopped if he is speaking the truth!”

The man holding on to Wen Yiji’s left arm relaxed his grip. It was an opportunity that Wen Yiji was not going to waste, and he took it. With a swift jerk, he freed himself from the hands still holding him and rushed towards the door.

“After him!” screamed the warden.

The men gave chase. Wen Yiji made it out of the door into the rain. He ran to the side of the building and stopped exerting his Dark Fire inner energy against the Invisibility energy. Immediately, he became semi-invisible. Then, redirecting the Dark Fire energy, he made a giant leap.

The voices of the men behind him yelled, “Where did he go?”

“I can hardly see him in this rain!”

"This rain is not fit for man nor beast. We shouldn't be out here!"

Hiding behind a tree, Wen Yiji rested for a moment. The heavy rain kept visibility down. Understandably, the men were loathed to look for Wen Yiji in the heavy rain. They would rather remain dry inside the restaurant. So, after a very short obligatory chase hither and thither, they came back into the restaurant and said, “He got away boss!”

“What do you mean he got away?” screamed the warden. “You useless pigs! I keep you around for what? Chase after one weak injured man also you cannot do! Eat shit, lah, all of you!”

In his fury, Warden Sai had Ah Keong brought before him. Then, in the premises of the restaurant, he thrashed Ah Keong thoroughly. The poor jailor screamed in pain.

“Interfere with my affairs, will you?” Warden Sai snarled as he kicked poor Ah Keong repeatedly on the floor.

Out in the rain, Wen Yiji heard the screams and knew that Ah Keong was being beaten up. There was nothing that he could do except hope that Ah Keong would be all right.

“Damn!” he cursed. “I hope Ah Keong is not too badly beaten up on my account! I will have to teach Warden Sai a very huge lesson one day! So huge that he will not recover from it!”

In the rain, he made his way to the restaurant’s stables, maintained his visibility, got this horse and carriage and then rode off.

+ + + + + +

The rain stopped. Despite his injuries, Wen Yiji felt a sense of elation as he approached the front gate of his family house. It had been a long time since he last offered joss sticks to the graves of his departed parents.

He got down from his carriage and approached the front gate of the walled compound. To his surprise, he saw that the gate was slightly ajar.

“Strange!” he muttered. “I remember bolting the gate shut from inside last time before jumping out over the wall. Somebody must have broken in!”

He pushed open the gate and walked in warily. The sight of the remnants of a burnt down house greeted him. His eyes scanned the inner surroundings of the compound. A movement at the tiny stable at the back portion of the property caught his attention. The stable was the only usable part of the property, being left relatively unscathed by the fire.

A figure was walking towards him. A familiar figure.

“Potato Seller!” greeted the figure.

“Young Girl?” he gasped.

They walked towards each other and then stared at each other in surprise.

“Fancy meeting you here!” he uttered finally. “How have you been?”

“Not too good I am afraid,” she answered. “It is good to see you!”

“I thought you were visiting the family of your betrothed,” he commented.

“I am,” she replied. “If you do not mind my saying so, you look like shit. What happened?”

“I got beaten up just now by one very stupid moron!”

“It’s more serious than that. The colour of your eyes tells me that you are having some huge internal clash going on inside you. If I am not mistaken, I think you are dying!”

Wen Yiji knew that she was right. The daily battle between the Invisibility energy and the Dark Fire energy to maintain his visibility was sapping his life force. He thought of telling her about his invisibility problem but decided against it. There was no point in freaking her out.

“Never mind about me,” he said. “I am curious. You have not told me yet what you are doing on my property.”

“Your property?” she asked. “But this is the property of the Wen family.”

“I am the Wen family,” he stated.

The girl stared at him for a while. A flash of comprehension filled her mind and then she uttered excitedly, “Oh……in that case you must be Wen Yiji.”

“You know me?”

“Yes,” she nodded happily. “Please excuse my manners, brother Wen! I am Zheng Shi Mei. And I am your betrothed.”

Chapter 13: The betrothal agreement

Wen Yiji tried to remember where he had heard the name Zheng Shi Mei before. It sounded familiar. He searched his memory but nothing came to mind.

“Zheng Shi Mei,” he said. “Zheng…….Zheng…….I do not recall any Zheng…..”

“I am the daughter of Zheng Daifu,” said the girl.

“Zheng Daifu……Zheng Daifu…….” muttered Yiji. “Yes, I remember a Physician Zheng of Chingnan. You must be his daughter, Shi Mei.”

“That is correct,” she answered.

“Shi Mei……you look different! The last time I saw you was about maybe eight years ago. Your hair was still in pigtails!”

‘That was a long time ago, brother Wen,” she smiled. “You have changed as well.”

Wen Yiji remembered the Zheng family. He had accompanied his parents and his brother Yituo on their journey to Chingnan. They were sending Yituo to a school in Chingnan to prepare him for his Imperial Civil Service Exams. The weather was rainy and they were crossing a swollen Yellow River in a boat with other passengers. Physician Zheng was also on the boat with his wife and daughter. His wife had fallen overboard and Wen Yiji had dived into the river to save her. That was how the Wen and Zheng families first met.

Yiji’s mother was very impressed with Shi Mei as the little girl had impeccable manners and beautiful eyes. He remembered that his mother thought that the girls in the Imperial City had plain-looking eyes and so she wanted very much to have Shi Mei as her daughter-in-law when she grew up. Unfortunately, Yiji’s mother could not decide if Shi Mei was to marry her second son Yituo or the third son Yifeng. Shi Mei’s sedate personality was closer to that of the studious Yituo. However, in terms of age, she was closer to Yifeng. Physician Zheng was grateful to the Wen family for saving the life of his wife and so he did not object even when the question of the groom was not settled. When Yiji went to prison, the question on which son would be marrying Shi Mei had still not been settled.

“How are your parents?” he asked politely. “I hope that they are well.”

“My mother passed away a few years ago,” informed Shi Mei. “As for my father, he passed away more than two months ago.”

“Oh…..I am sorry to hear that,” he said. “Please accept my sympathies.”

“Before my father passed away, he instructed me to present myself in the house of my betrothed. There is a marriage agreement between our two families whereby I am to become the daughter-in-law of the Wen family when I reached the age of eighteen. I have to get married within a hundred days of my father’s death, according to the traditions. Otherwise, I must undergo a three-year waiting period.”

Wen Yiji sighed and said, “I am afraid that you have made this journey for nothing. You were supposed to marry either Yituo or Yifeng. Unfortunately, both of them died six years ago. I guess your father did not know what happened here six years ago.”

“We did not know of the tragedy,” said Shi Mei. “Nobody contacted us so we assumed that everything was all right. After my mother's passing away, my father did not keep in touch with the people he knew. He just buried himself in his work as a means to escape his sorrow. It wa only when he was close to death that he told me about my betrothal. After much searching, I managed to locate your Wen family home two days ago. Your neighbour, Chan Pak, told me of the tragic fire six years ago. He informed me that you were in prison at that time and that one of your sisters survived of the fire. He said that your sister had disappeared for years and he saw you only once last year looking very thin and frail. After that, he never saw you again. The winter was particular cold last year so he assumed that you might not have survived the winter. I was truly shocked to find out that such a great tragedy had befallen your family.”

“It is shocking, yes,” murmured Wen Yiji.

“I spent the day yesterday sweeping and tidying the graves of your family members as best as I could. I thought that you were probably dead and never coming back, and so I decided not to stay. I was about to leave this morning when it rained. Had it not rained, I would certainly have left and thus we would have missed each other entirely.”

“How very fortuitous is this rain then!” remarked Wen Yiji. “This is the second time that we have met by the slimmest of chance.”

“I was told that you had a sister who survived the fire. Did you manage to locate her?”

“Happily I did. I found her in Tianjin. We have since moved to the town of Tsinkiang in the south.”

“Tsinkiang?”

“It is a coastal town south of Fuzhou in the Fujian Province.”

“That must be far from here.”

“Very far. I have come back here to collect the bones of my family and take them back to Tsinkiang for reburial. After this, I will not come back to the Imperial City again.”

Zheng Shi Mei looked thoughtful and was silent for a while. Wen Yiji admired her eyes. He could see why his mother wanted her for a daughter-in-law.

Finally, Shi Mei broke the silence and said, “There is still the matter of the betrothal agreement between our two families to be discussed.”

“The betrothal agreement?” asked Wen Yiji. “You were slated to marry either Yituo or Yifeng. They are both dead, so I guess the agreement has lapsed.”

“No, brother Wen,” she said. “The betrothal agreement was that I was to become your parent’s daughter-in-law when I reached the age of eighteen, which I have. The agreement did not state which son I should marry. Since you are the only surviving son, by default, I will have to marry you.”

“What? No, I can’t marry you!”

“If you do not wish to marry me, I will not force you to do so, brother Wen,” said Shi Mei. “I do not think that it is proper for me to impose myself on you. However, the agreement was made in the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy and therefore it is a binding agreement which we cannot break as we like.”

“Any man with any sense in his head will marry you without hesitation, Shi Mei,” declared Wen Yiji. “However, I am a dying man and I will not make you a widow. It is best that you marry someone else.”

“If it is my fate to be a widow, then so be it.”

“No, I will not hear of it.”

“If you do not wish to marry me, then you have to give me the green elephant.”

“What green elephant? Where got green elephant?”

Shi Mei reached inside her sleeve. She took out a gold bangle before replying, “My father instructed me that during the betrothal agreement, our families exchanged gifts. Your family gave me this gold bangle and we gave your family a green jade elephant. The agreement can be annulled if I return this gold bangle. You will have to return to me the green jade elephant.”

“I don’t have a green jade elephant,” said Wen Yiji. “Everything was destroyed by the fire!”

“In that case, we are bound by Heaven to remain betrothed,” said Zheng Shi Mei. “Relax! I don’t think I will make that bad a wife!”

“I wasn’t thinking for myself!” protested Yiji. “I was thinking for you! You have all the qualities required of a good wife……..good figure, good tits, nice ass, lovely eyes, great smile…… and all the other wifely qualities. Even the other not so important qualities like character and interesting personality, you also got. You deserve better.”

“What gives you the right to say whether I deserve better or not?”

“As your betrothed I certainly have a right to say whether you deserved better or not.”

“Since you say that you are my betrothed, then it is settled. You are my betrothed!”

Wen Yiji sighed and said, "You do not know what you are getting into. I have a certain affliction that prevents me from getting married!"

"Is it serious?"

"Very serious, I'm afraid."

"I understand. There are a number of men in my village with the same affliction. It may not be totally curable, but it does not mean that you cannot live a reasonably exciting life. There are herbal drugs for this sort of thing. You need not feel embarrassed about it."

"You know what my affliction is?"

"Let me guess…...it's erectile dysfunction isn't it?"

"It's not erectile dysfunction!"

"Look, you need not go into denial. These things are more common than you think. I will have to boil you tiger penis soup everyday. Brother Wen, even though you may not feel fully functional as a man, I will still marry as long as you do not have the green elephant."

"Will you listen? I am telling you that it is not as simple as erectile dysfunction! It is worse than that! Much worse!"

"Oh no! I think I understand!"

"You do?"

"Yes! There were a few men in my village who do not get excited about women. They only get excited about men! I may not like this situation, but an agreement is an agreement and I will still have to marry you because you do not have the green elephant."

"I am not like that, okay? This has nothing to do with sex with either men or women."

"Oh heavens," cried a shocked Zheng Shi Mei. "In my village, there was this one guy who had no interest in either men or women. But every night he would take a goat into his bedroom. I am appalled by the very idea!"

Wen Yiji stared at her, wondering what she was getting at.

Shi Mei continued, “I am sorry, brother Wen, but there is no way that I will share my husband with a goat! If you bring that creature to the marriage bed, I will turn it into mutton soup. Tell you what.......tomorrow morning, I will help you search for the green elephant!”

Wen Yiji spluttered, “Will you stop guessing already? My troubles are something that you cannot possibly imagine!”

“Then tell me what it is,” said Shi Mei. “As your betrothed, don’t you think that I have a right to know?”

She looked at him expectantly. Wen Yiji sighed. He would have to tell her the truth.

“Shi Mei,” he said. “I will tell you the problem if you promise not to freak out.”

“Do not worry, brother Wen,” she said. “I am a physician’s daughter. I do not freak out.”

“All right. Give me time to greet my dead parents first.”

“Yes, of course,” she accented. “You will need to offer some joss sticks to your departed family. You look hungry. I will get you something to eat. Later on, I will take a look at the extent of your injuries.”

She went to work as Wen Yiji approached the graves of his parents. He noted that the grass had been trimmed back and the graves swept. He nodded approvingly. Most girls would be too squemish to hang around the graves alone. Zheng Shi Mei was obviously made from tougher material.

Wen Yiji knelt in front of his father’s grave and bowed low.

“Father,” he whispered. “I have come to take you back to your place of birth in Tsinkiang. I have recently purchased a plot of land with good fengshui to be your eternal resting place. You will like it there. You may be glad to know that I have found Xiang Xiang. She is alive and well. When the time is right, I will marry her to a decent family. You need not worry about her. I have also found your sister's son. He is an orphan now. I cannot remember his real name but we all call him Grasshopper. I guess you know that Zheng Shi Mei is here. Frankly, I do not know what to do with her, but we had a betrothal agreement with her family. Mother was right. This girl has beautiful eyes. I find her theories a bit unusual but she is a person whom I can easily get along with.”

One by one, Wen Yiji offered joss sticks to each departed soul. When it was done, he went inside the stable and ate a simple meal prepared by Shi Mei. She could see that he was in a bad shape and so she allowed him to eat in peace. When he had finished eating, he told her about all that had befallen him after he had given a lift to the old man, the Ghost Ninja. He told her everything including the part where he got beaten up by Warden Sai.

When he had finished his story, she queried him seriously, “You said that you are now half-invisible and that it is your Dark Fire inner energy that is suppressing the Invisibility energy to make you fully visible.”

“Yes,” he replied, wondering if she believed him.

“Do you mind not suppressing the Invisibility energy so that I can see what you look like in the semi-invisible state?”

“Promise that you will not scream?”

“I will not scream.”

Wen Yiji stood up and turned off his Dark Fire inner energy. Immediately, he became semi-invisible and she could see only his legs up to a short distance above his knees. She knew that he would look unusual but even so the sight of him gave her a mild shock. After staring at his unusual state, she stood up and walked around him. She reached out with her hand and her fingers touched his face. Then she withdrew her hand. For a long moment, she looked thoughtful

“Well?” asked Wen Yiji in an embarrassed tone. “What are you thinking?”

“I am thinking that you are not really transparent, brother Wen,” she replied.

“What do you mean?”

“If you are transparent, light will pass through your body to the other side. In your case, I believe that light bends around your body. So instead of going through you, the light bends around your body to the other side giving the appearance that you have become invisible."

“The light bends around my body?”

“Yes. I am standing in front of you. I should see you. But the Invisibility energy exerts a force on the light from behind you and swings it around your body to the front. So what I see is what is behind you and not you. That way, there is the illusion of invisibility. Anything you wear and anything you carry in your hands will not be seen by me because of this effect. You are a light-bender, brother Wen!”

Wen Yiji was silent for a moment. Then he asked, “A light-bender…..are you sure?”

“Yes,” she replied. "The invisibility of your torso is not perfect. The light bending is not evenly done. I can detect a slight wavy background change as I walk around you. In the daytime, this may be noticeable if there is relative movement between you and the observer, but at night I doubt if anybody will be able to detect that. Your invisibility works best at night, I should think."

"I think you are beginning to make a lot of sense to me."

"Pardon me, but I always make a lot of sense! Your eyes are faintly visible from where I am standing. But only just. Most of the light has bent away but a little light must be reaching your eyes to allow you to see. This little light will make it appear to you as if the world had gone dark. If my guess is correct, each time you become semi-invisible, the world will suddenly appear to be very dark to you. The day will appear like dusk.”

"Say, you are right!" said Wen Yiji. "That explains why the weather seems to change every time I am semi-invisible!"

"Stretch your hands outwards to the side, brother Wen," she requested.

Wen Yiji did as he was told.

“I can see the tips of your fingers but not your thumbs,” she remarked. “That tells me that the light bending effect starts somewhere just beyond your thumb. There is an invisibility envelope around your torso that extends from the above the knees to above your head. The centre of this envelope is probably around your chest area. The lower limit covers your ass."

"My ass is covered?"

"Yes. Your ass is covered. If my theory is correct, I will not be able to see you if you crouch down. In the crouching position, the invisibility envelop should cover your feet as well.”

Wen Yiji crouched down immediately and ask, "Can you see me now?"

Shi Mei walked around him before saying, "No, you are practically totally invisible now. The invisibility envelope has covered your legs and feet. No one will know that you are there!"

“That is good!” said Wen Yiji excitedly. “That means that I do not have to exert the Dark Fire energy to maintain visibility. All I need to do is crouch down and nobody will even know that I am there. I will be like a crouching tiger hidden from view."

“That is true,” said Shi Mei. “You, as a crouching tiger will be a hidden dragon. Hmmmmph…..crouching tiger and hidden dragon….that is a good phrase. I think I shall copyright it!”

"Say, this has possibilities!" remarked Wen Yiji excitedly.

"You mean that one day it may be a suitable title for a show?" asked Shi Mei.

"No, I mean that I can either be totally visible or totally invisible. It is this semi-invisible yin-yang situation that is killing me! However, at some stage, I will need to become visible to others. Then I will have to suppress the Invisibility energy with my Dark Fire energy again. Si beh sian leh.”

"Please, if you don’t mind, let me have your hand, brother Wen," requested Shi Mei.

"Of course," said Wen Yiji as he stood up. "Now that we are betrothed, it is all right if you wish to hold my hand. No need to be so formal and say ‘please’ or ‘if you don’t mind’. Just grab."

"Will you relax? I just want to take your pulse!"

She took his pulse on the wrist. Her touch was gentle and he felt his heart pumping madly.

“Well, what do you think?” he asked. “What is wrong with me?”

“I think you have aids,” she answered.

“Slow ass or decreasing sleep?”

“Neither.”

“What is it then?”

“Always in deep shit.”

Wen Yiji sighed, “That’s the story of my life.”

"I am worried," she said. "Your pulse is odd. I think you will die if you suppress the Invisibility energy with the Dark Fire energy too often.”

“What should I do then?”

“Prevention is better than cure. The idea is to prevent the Invisibility energy from manifesting. If I can find the seat of the Invisibility energy, I can insert an acupuncture needle there and prevent its manifestation. Without Invisibility energy, there will be no need for you to fight it with the Dark Fire inner energy to maintain visibility. This reliance on a needle may not be a long term solution, but at least you will get your health back.”

“All right, prepare your acupuncture needles,” said Wen Yiji. “Prick me, girl.”

“It is not so simple. I have not encountered such a situation before. I do not even know where to begin.”

“I know that I am expecting too much from you,” he said. “You have already been of great help. I have had a long day. Maybe we should get some sleep first.”

“Take off your clothes,” she commanded.

“You want me to get naked so soon? We are not married yet! Not that I am complaining of course!”

“I have an idea,” said Shi Mei taking out her acupuncture needles.

“So have I,” said Wen Yiji as he removed his clothes. “But I think we will need to do it in the carriage.”

“No, here will be fine,” she said. “Suppress your invisibility. I need to see your body.”

“Of course,” he grinned. “It will be more interesting if you can see my body.”

He suppressed the invisibility and his half naked body came into view. Without warning, she inserted a needle into Wen Yiji’s hip and said, “Now release your Dark Fire energy.”

“Huh?” he asked stupidly.

“Release your Dark Fire energy,” she repeated. “I want to know if I managed to insert my acupuncture needle into the seat of the Invisibility energy. If my needle has been positioned correctly, you should be visible!”

Slowly, Wen Yiji realized that he was not getting any horny action. With a sigh, he released his Dark Fire Energy. His torso turned invisible again.

“Oh, no,” exclaimed Shi Mei. “Your torso turned invisible again. It did not work.”

“Maybe you poked the wrong spot,” said Yiji.

“You are right. I should have poked the left instead of the right.”

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

She poked the left instead of the right. Again it did not work.

“Hmmmmph……I wonder what went wrong?” she thought out aloud.

“Wrong spot again?” asked Yiji.

“Wait! I’ve got it. I should poke the back left instead of the front left!”

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t make the same mistake thrice.”

She poked the back left instead of the front left. Again it did not work.

“Maybe I ought to poke the back right instead!”

“Are you certain now?”

“Don’t worry. I don’t make the same mistake four times.”

She poked the back right. Again it did not work.

Pursing her lips, she thought for a while before saying, “I think I know where the spot is!”

“Are you sure?” asked Yiji. “You have already poked me four times!”

“Don’t worry. I don’t make the same mistake five times!”

She poked. It was the wrong spot again. That did not stop her. She poked and she poked.

Finally Wen Yiji said, “Can we stop? I now have more holes than a sieve.”

“Don’t be such a baby,” she laughed. “I am doing all the work. All you do is just bear some pain, that’s all.”

“Maybe we can continue tomorrow when all my holes have recovered!”

“One more time.”

“Are you certain that your theory works? Maybe it can’t be done with a needle.”

“You could be right. Maybe I should be using thicker needles!”

“Heck no!”

“Hold still while I poke. And don’t worry, I don’t make the same mistake one hundred and forty-nine times!”

“That phrase sounds familiar! Maybe it’s because I have heard it one hundred and forty-eight times! Forget it. I want to sleep.”

Wen Yiji released his Dark Fire energy and turned invisible even as Shi Mei poked.

“Look what you made me do,” scolded Shi Mei. “I must have poked the wrong spot. Will you please turn visible again?”

Wen Yiji turned visible and said, “Let us continue tomorrow. My Dark Fire energy is depleted and I need to rest in order to recover.”

Shi Mei relented and said, “All right. You can release the Dark Fire energy.”

She reached out her hand to pull out the acupuncture needle that had landed accidentally on Yiji’s collar bone area. She pulled it out halfway and he turned invisible.

She paused. Then she pushed in the needle again. He turned visible.

“Tell me that you are not fooling with me with your Dark Fire energy!” she said excitedly.

“I am not fooling with you!” he said, just as excitedly. “You found the spot!”

She felt around his body, examining his subtle energies with her sensitive fingers and exclaimed, “So, this is where your seat of Invisibility is!”

Wen Yiji was elated. “All I have to do is walk around with this needle in my collarbone area and I can be visible! Hahahahaha!” he laughed aloud.

“It is not a long term solution. You can’t walk around with a needle in you all the time or the flesh may grow over the needle. Every now and then you will have to take the needle out. I suggest that you sleep in the semi-invisible state. When I was examining Old Man, or Ghost Ninja, I noticed that he had a strange energy signature. He did not need a needle to turn visible. Something about his energy profile may have something to do with turning off the Invisibility energy.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“No. I can’t even remember his energy profile. If I can, I believe that I may be able to turn off your Invisibility energy without using a needle.”

“Never mind,” said Yiji encouragingly. “You have already been a very great help to me. I will probably die soon if you had not appeared. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.”

“Your condition is still weak but I believe that you can recover in ten days,” she remarked. “You will need to drink some boiled medicinal herbs daily. Tomorrow, I will write you a prescription. Better rest now.”

“You will make a brilliant daifu, Shi Mei!” remarked a very ecstatic Wen Yiji.

“That was what my father told me,” smiled Shi Mei. “He said that I had the healing luck. Now go to sleep.”

“I am too elated to sleep,” he said in excitement. “Maybe we can play some indoor games!”

“Go to sleep, brother Wen,” said Shi Mei firmly.

+ + + + + +

Chui La Pah bowed low in front of Prince Jin.

“Master Chui,” said the prince. “I need to have an eunuch killed.”

“No problem,” said the Flute Master. “I never did like eunuchs. Which one do you want dead?”

"The dickless one."

"But they are all dickless."

"It's a joke."

"Oh....hahahahaha!"

“Okay, joke over. His name is Eunuch Kong. News has come to me that the Emperor will be going on a hunting trip in ten days time. He will be staying in the so-called Summer Palace in Shibai and then hunt in the nearby Red Cliff Mountains. It is customary for him to listen to music recitals together with his concubines and princes in the evenings after the days' hunt. I have plans for you to get in as a musician for the recitals. Once you have the royal audience, I would like you to play your Devil Flute and kill them all!"

The Flute Master smiled and said, "So, the big day approaches when we will make a big change in the dynasty!"

"Yes!" replied Prince Jin. "This is an opportunity not to be missed. Once you have killed your royal audience, I want you to get out of there! I will then appear and take charge of the burial. Being the only royal left, I will get the generals there to swear allegiance to me as the new Emperor. Those who refuse to do so will be assassinated later."

"May you have a long life, future Emperor!" bowed the Flute Master.

"See that no one knows of our plans," instructed the prince.

"How will I get the opportunity to play my flute in front of the royal audience?" asked Chui La Pah.

"Eunuch Kong is in charge of the evening entertainment. We will kill him first and then another eunuch will take his place. That eunuch will have a list of musicians that bears your name!"

"There is a problem," said Chui La Pah. "Eunuch Kong is known to be close to the Emperor. If we kill Eunuch Kong, the Emperor may smell a rat and cancel all entertainment! Let us see first if I can get in as a musician without killing that eunuch."

Prince Jin thought for a long while before answering, "You are right. We should try persuasion first. If Eunuch Kong agrees to your appearance at the recitals, it will save us a lot of hassle. But if he does not agree, we should launch our backup plan to send him to hell."

“Killing him will not be a problem if I know where to find him. But how will I know where to find him?”

"That is another problem. He stays beside the Emperor most of the time. However, I know of one place where he will go. In the Red Cliff Mountains, there is a secret pool in the forest that is home to the Devil fish.”

“The Devil fish?”

“Yes. They are big fish, longer than the height of a man and they stay around that particular pool which is at the bottom of a waterfall. In some years, the Emperor will go there and throw a pig into the pool to feed the fish. It is quite a sight to see those huge fishes thrashing around in the pool in a feeding frenzy. Quite entertaining. The Emperor loved it. There was one time when a careless soldier slipped and fell into the pool before we could throw in the pig. Poor bastard! But he provided some thrashing entertainment for the rest of us. I remember that some of the princes applauded merrily!”

“I find it so sick that some of the princes applauded.”

“You are right. All of them should have applauded!”

“Of course! And Eunuch Kong is somehow connected to all this?”

“Yes. Eunuch Kong makes it a point to inspect the area around the Pool of the Devil fish to make sure that there is no danger of the Emperor falling in by accident. He will be there with some workers to cordon off any slippery areas. Being a meticulous person, he will do this a few days before the Emperor is due to make a visit to the pool. I will see if Eunuch Kong is willing to cooperate and allow you to perform in the music recitals. If he disagrees, then you will waylay that stupid eunuch by the pool. Kill him and feed his body to the Devil fish. Once he is gone, another eunuch will take his place and you will be able to enter the Summer Residence without problems."

" Summer Residence? I thought that place is called the Summer Palace?"

"Summer Palace? What a laugh! That stupid place is nothing more than a hunting lodge! When I become the new emperor, I will build a proper summer palace there!”

“I do not know where this secret pool is. How do I get there?”

“My guard, Red Wind, knows the place. I will get him to show the way to one of your men. Later on, your man will guide you there when the time is right.”

Chui La Pah nodded.

Red Wind was summoned immediately.

“Red Wind,” said Prince Jin. I need you to show the location of the Pool of the Devil fish to some people.”

“What kind of people?” asked Red Wind.

“That is my business!” snapped the Prince. “Master Chui will provide some men. All you have to do is lead them there! After that, you come back here. Understand?”

“Yes, master,” replied Red Wind. He did not like Chui La Pah but he would do as he was told.

+ + + + + +

In the headquarters of the Green Scorpion Sect, the Flute Master was addressing a few of his loyal disciples.

“Blackface,” he commanded. “I want you to follow a man call Red Wind to a pool in the Red Cliff Mountains. Take note of the location. When the time is right, you will have to guide me there.”

“The Red Cliff Mountains is about six days of hard riding from here. And who is this Red Wind?”

“He is one of Prince Jin’s guards. You will start riding tomorrow. Once you know where the pool is, you don’t need to come hack here. Instead, go to the nearby town of Shibai and stay at the Green Gate Inn. There, you will await my further instructions.”

“Yes, master,” said Blackface.

“May I go along as well, master,” asked Phoenix, the young pretty widow of Fire Cloud. “Since the death of my husband, I am unable to sit or stand comfortably. Even the food tastes stale to my mouth. I need to do something. I need to be active! I wish to go with senior brother Blackface to this pool.”

“No, you need to stay here and rest!” interjected Whiteface. Master Chui had hinted that he would be allowed to marry Phoenix now that her husband was dead. Whiteface did not like the idea of sister Phoenix going anywhere with Blackface.

“I wish to go!” said Phoenix. “I will go insane if I stay here. Day and night I keep thinking of my departed husband. I need to get away for a while.”

“You are right,” said Chui La Pah. “I need one other person to help remember the location of the pool. You may go with Blackface and Red Wind to the Red Cliff Mountains. After that, you will go to Shibai and stay. But I want you to stay at the Red Lantern Inn while Blackface stays at the Green Gate Inn. Do you understand?”

“Yes, master,” replied Phoenix contentedly.

Whiteface scowled.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji was bored. He had been drinking medicine for four days now and was feeling a lot better. However, Shi Mei insisted that he should not exert himself. There was nothing for him to do every day except watch Shi Mei practised the Way of the Water Spider technique. She was fast on level ground. However, she could not do the high leaps of lightness kungfu.

Wen Yiji tried to alleviate his boredom by copying Shi Mei’s moves. But that bored him as well. He thought about Ah Keong and hoped that Warden Sai had not mistreated the jailor. It weighed on his mind until finally he told Shi Mei that he was going out to see a friend.

“Don’t exert yourself!” advised Shi Mei.

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” he answered.

Wen Yiji made his way to the Li-Khor prison and stared at it. The building held long memories for him; most of it unpleasant. It was already dusk and the darkness of night had descended. He walked to a corner of the building and then crouched down. There, he pulled out the acupuncture needle in his collarbone area and immediately became invisible.

He leapt up high with lightness kungfu and in the air, he kept his thighs closed to his chest so that even his legs were covered by the Invisibility envelope. None of the jailors saw him land near the inner gate. Despite his invisibility, the dogs smelt him and barked. One of the dogs came near and he pelted it hard with a stone. It ran off yelping with its tail between the legs. The other dogs kept their distance. The jailors around the inner gate stared at the dog wondering if it had gone mad.

The inner gate opened and a jailor walked out. Wen Yiji leapt through the inner gate unseen.

A flight of steps lead to the warden’s office and Wen Yiji followed it. To maintain invisibility, he had to crouch down and walk like a duck Wen Yiji pushed open the door and duckwalked in. He closed the door and then stood up.

The warden was eating a bowl of cherries when he saw a pair of legs suddenly appeared before him. The legs then walked slowly towards him. Fear gripped him and he rubbed his eyes with his hands.

“Illusion only,” the warden told himself. “No need to be so scared!”

The legs stopped in front of him. He wanted to scream but he could not.

Piak!

Wen Yiji had slapped the warden hard. The warden fell to the ground. He got up.

Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak!

The warden screamed in terror.

Footstep ran up the steps. Wen Yiji leapt to a corner and crouched down. The door was flung open and three jailors burst into the room.

One of them asked, “Is there anything wrong, Warden Sai? We heard you screaming!”

“There….there…..there was a ghost in here just now!” babbled the warden. “It slapped me!”

The men inspected his face. It was red from all the slaps and his lips were badly swollen.

“Oh no!” whispered one of the jailors. “They say that if you let ghost slap, can die one!”

“What do I do?” screamed the warden.

“I have a picture of Guan Gong, the God of War. If you put his picture behind you , the ghost will not dare to approach you,” suggested another jailor.

“Go take the picture, quick!” ordered Warden Sai.

Wen Yiji smiled in amusement as the jailor rushed out and then rushed back in again with the picture of Guan Gong. Immediately, Warden Sai had the picture pasted on the wall.

“There,” said the warden with bravado. “I feel safe now! I am the warden of the most infamous prison on earth! Hahahaha! Who said I fear ghosts? Ghost come ghost die!”

The three jailors then left the room.

Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak! Piak!

The warden screamed in terror as he got slapped again. The three jailors rushed back in and calmed him down after much effort.

Finally, one of the jailors whispered, “Don’t worry, warden. I know a very powerful mao shan sifu who can catch all sorts of devils! Tomorrow, I will call him to come and he will catch this unclean thing and put it in his sack. Then he will burn the sack. He guarantee can get result one!”

“Okay okay…..tonight, all three of you sleep with me,” whispered the terrified warden. “Tomorrow, you must bring me the mao shan sifu quickly!”

Chapter 14: The new prisoner

Wen Yiji was nonplussed. He had not expected that the Warden would call three men to sleep in the same room with him. For a moment, he was tempted to stay there all night to slap the warden silly. However, he did not want to freak out the three jailors. He stared at their faces. They were not the same men who held him while he was getting slapped in the restaurant a few days ago. No, he did not want to scare them unnecessarily just because he wanted to mete out some justified punishment to the cruel warden.

Somehow, the idea of four men sleeping in the same room, just because the warden was scared, amused him. He chuckled softly. But not softly enough. The four men in the room heard him and they froze in fear.

What Wen Yiji really wanted was to find out the situation about Ah Keong. He hoped that the warden had not beaten him up too badly. The door was still open and Wen Yiji duckwalked through it. He duckwalked down the steps to the floor level and then wondered where he should go.

“Damn!” he muttered. “This duckwalk business is really inconvenient! If I keep on walking like this, I may go out of shape! But if I want to stay invisible, I have to do it.”

He duckwalked around and watched the jailors go about their business. Most of them were either gambling or drinking cheap wine. Ah Keong was nowhere to be seen. Wen Yiji looked at the prison walls and memories flooded his mind.

“For six long years I have been imprisoned here until I was finally freed last year,” he noted to himself. “My last cell mate was an idiotic foreigner called Amos. Hmmmmph. I wonder if he is still alive!”

Consumed with a burning curiosity, he made his way to the old wing where his former cell was. The large wooden door to the old wing was locked and there were two jailors at the door. They were half drunk. He tapped them on the head and they were knocked into the unconscious state. He got up from his duckwalking position and took the keys that were hanging from the wall, not caring if anyone saw him in the half-invisible state. He unlocked the door and walked through into the dim corridor beyond. The old wing was the worst of the wings; cold and damp. Usually, the hardened criminals were kept there.

The corridor was lit by only a single lit torch on the wall and thus most of the cells were in darkness. Wen Yiji walked past cell after cell of prisoners in his semi-invisible state. A few prisoners saw his legs walking by and they closed their eyes. They had their wits frightened out of them. It was bad enough that they were in prison; it would be even worse if they had a confrontation with a ghost.

Wen Yiji reached the last cell and peered inside. He inserted the acupuncture needle in his collar bone area and he turned fully visible. He was curious about how Amos was faring but he did not want to freak out Amos if he could help it. There were five men in the cell. In the low light level, he could not make out their faces. They too, could not see what he looked like.

“Amos!” Wen Yiji called. “Prisoner Amos! Are you in there?”

A voice called out from within, “Who wants to know?”

The voice did not belong to Amos. At once, Wen Yiji had a feeling that Amos was not in there. He did not know who the five prisoners were, but one thing he was sure; the least favourite prisoners were always kept in the last cell. The five in there must be the worst of human scum.

“I am the new jailor,” announced Wen Yiji coolly. “I am checking on the prisoner called Amos.”

“Oh……a new jailor! That stupid foreigner has died……he died late last year during the cold winter. Didn’t you know that?”

“No,” replied Wen Yiji in shock. He had not expected Amos to die yet.

“Why did you not know that the ugly foreigner died?”

“I must have gotten the old list of prisoners,” lied Wen Yiji glibly. “His name is still on it.”

“How do you expect to run a prison efficiently if your prisoner list is not up to date?” a gruff voice within the cell commented. “All good organizations should function on real-time data. Your management skills are pathetic!”

The other four laughed derisively.

"Working with obsolete data leads only to bad decisions," commented another voice. "Utterly deplorable!"

Again, more derisive laughter.

"How long do you expect to survive if you insult a jailor?" retorted Wen Yiji. "Your diplomatic skills are a disaster! Tomorrow, when I bring the food, it will have a special ingredient in it. And the water will have a certain smell!”

There was a long silence.

Then another voice spoke, "We are sorry if we offended you, Ah Sir! Please, you big person with big magnanimity, we beg you not to shit in our food or pee in our drinking water!”

"All right," said Wen Yiji. "I'll let it go this time. Don't ever insult me again!"

"Thank you, Ah Sir!" cried the chorus of voices in the cell.

"Now tell me who you people are and why Amos is not in this cell," asked Wen Yiji.

"We are the Luan Luan Kan Gang," answered a voice. "We were caught and sentenced here late last year. Initially we were in the next cell and the foreigner was in here with two other prisoners. One day, the three of them got into a fight over food. One of them died. When the jailors came to take away the dead body, one of the remaining two prisoners cursed the warden's name loudly. This incident was reported to the warden and he had the two prisoners dragged to his office and given a severe beating. Then they were thrown back into the cell. They were so badly beaten that they could not even eat. A few days later, we heard that they had died. After that, we were transferred to this cell."

"So, that was how Amos died," said Wen Yiji in an even voice. "For cursing the name of the warden."

"Actually, it was not the foreigner who cursed," said the voice. "It was the other prisoner. But the foreigner got beaten all the same. It was his bad luck, Ah Sir!"

"This is an injustice," sighed Wen Yiji. "The warden should have come down here to investigate the matter thoroughly."

"Actually, the warden has never come down here," replied a voice. "We don't even know what he looks like, Ah Sir!"

"Well, I don't think he likes you very much. This is the last cell of the wing, traditionally reserved for the most hardcore of criminals. You are the last to receive your food and drinking water. But never mind. You are all not expected to live long anyway."

"That is what you think," said a gruff voice from the cell. "My fortune teller said that I will have great prosperity and a long life!

"Hahahaha!" laughed Wen Yiji. He found the situation terribly funny. "Your fortune teller is full of shit! You are the Luan Luan Kan Gang. Let me guess......you are serial rapists. Scum of the earth. Dog excrement. Killers and murderers. And you are here because you raped your own grandmother. And you have the nerve to expect great prosperity and a long life?"

"Hey! I resent that!” replied a shrill voice form the cell. “We did not rape our own grandmothers.......only other people's grandmothers! And granddaughters! But definitely not our own grandmothers!"

"Whatever," said Wen Yiji. He had lost interest in them and so he turned to go away.

"Wait!" the shrill voice within the cell spoke. "Can I request that if you have a young new prisoner, can you send him to our cell?"

"Whatever for?" asked Wen Yiji, mystified.

"We.....uh......need some entertainment," the voice replied. "If got female prisoner, that will be best. But if got no female prisoner, then male one also okay. No fish, prawn also good mah!"

Wen Yiji swore softly. The Luan Luan Gang sickened him. He walked off without responding to the request. Then switching into the state of invisibility, he duckwalked around, but he did not manage to find Ah Keong.

He was disappointed. The ache in his thighs was killing him.

"Ni nabeh," he swore. "Walking around like a duck like this......crouching duck and hidden chicken.......damn! Maybe Ah Keong is not even here! That's it. I'll call it a night and go home.”

+ + + + + +

In the morning, Wen Yiji felt his thighs aching. He had never duckwalk so much for a long time. He remembered that he used to do it in his younger days during kungfu training.

Shi Mei was already up and practicing her 'Way of the Water Spider' technique. He admired her form and grace of movement. He glanced at the graves of his two brothers and immediately felt a tinge of guilt. She was supposed to be the bride of one of them. If things had been better, she should have been his sister-in-law. He really did not know what to do with her. His morning erection slowed down his thinking further.

Shi Mei paused in her exercises and looked at Yiji. Ever since he had saved her mother from drowning, she had always looked up to him. Eight years ago, he looked young and dashing. Now, he looked thinner and more matured. He was still her hero and she would do whatever it took to find a solution to his invisibility problem.

“You are up early, brother Wen,” she greeted. “I have already boiled your medicine. Let me pour it out for you.”

“You have been practicing your Water Spider Technique quite diligently,” he noted. “It is not a fighting art. You cannot use it to subdue an opponent.”

“True,” she replied. “But I do find it useful, brother Wen. I have used it on two occasions to evade bad people. For this, I am grateful to the Ghost Ninja.”

“Let me teach you something more useful instead……something you can use to defend yourself. “

After he had taken his medicine, Wen Yiji tried to teach her the sword, but he could see that she wasn’t going to be any good at it. He then tried the wooden pole, but she was equally bad at it. Finally, he gave up.

“You are not a natural when it comes to fighting, Shi Mei,” he said. “I think it is because you have a natural disposition to heal rather than kill. But a person must be able to defend herself.”

“Why don’t you show me how to defend myself without having to hurt people, brother Wen?”

Wen Yiji pondered her words and then laughed, “I don’t know how to do that. For me, the best defense is a good offence where I beat the shit out of my opponent! Then I beat them some more until they cry father cry mother! No defense can be beter than that!"

Shi Mei smiled. The world of viokence was not in her blood. But she would practise with the sword because her brother Wen wanted her to.

To pass the time, Wen Yiji practised his archery skills against a wooden upright pole. Arrow after arrow hit the pole. It was too easy. He pulled out the acupuncture needle that kept him visible. Immediately, his day turned into night and the low light level made visual location of the pole slightly more difficult. He took aim and released the arrow. Again, arrow after arrow hit the pole. He then knelt down and shot his arrows from that position.

"I bet you are not able to see me shooting from the crouching position," he told Shi Mei.

She smiled and said, "I can still see the top portion of your bow, brother Wen!"

“I need to get a shorter bow,” thought Wen Yiji to himself. “With a short bow, nobody will know that I am there. I will be the perfect assassin!”

“There is a wasp that is flying by the wall of the stable. Will you be able to hit the wasp from here?’ she asked.

“Of course,” he replied. “I may even be able to do it blindfolded.”

“Better not,” she advised. “I don’t want you hitting me by mistake."

The next moment, Wen Yiji's arow shot throught the air.

Thud!

The arrow sliced the wasp neatly into two in midair before embedding itself onto the wall of the stable.

When noon came, Wen Yiji took Shi Mei out in his carriage for a meal. He had enough of the Liufa potatoes that they had been eating for the past few days. He ws quite sure that the muscles on his head had been thoroughly relaxed by now. After a good lunch, he took her around town to show her the sights of the Imperial City. As they were passing a quiet street, Wen Yiji looked around him and remembered the surroundings.

"This is where my friends, the Chin brothers used to stay," he told Shi Mei. "I remember that one of them told me that their cousin Ah Keong also lived on the same street as they did. Maybe I can find him here!"

Wen Yiji went to a few houses and inquired. A few housewives passing by took interest and one of them answered, "Oh....you mean the Ah Keong, the one who wanted to get married but got no money! Aiyah.......working in the infamous Li-Khor prison......where got future?"

Another housewife interjected, "Oh, that must be the same Ah Keong who got beaten up a few days ago! See daifu also got no money! Better not go and see him. His mother will borrow money from you for sure!"

"The last time they borrowed rice from me, still not yet pay back!" added a third housewife.

Wen Yiji politely obtained the directions to Ah Keong's house and he went along his way. Stopping his carriage in front of a badly upkept house, he then went in and asked for Ah Keong. An old woman greeted him. It was Ah Keong's aged mother.

"I don't know why the warden beat up my son so badly, but he is now too injured to go to work," the old woman said.

Yiji was embarassed. He knew that he was the cause of Ah Keong's beating. The old woman showed him and Shi Mei to Ah Keong's bed.

"Master Wen," whispered Ah Keong from the bed when he saw Wen Yiji.

"Do not speak," instructed Wen Yiji. "Let me see the extent of your injuries."

Ah Keong had two broken ribs. After inspecting the bruises and wounds, Wen Yiji carefully rolled Ah Keong to lie on his front. Shi Mei brought out her acupuncture needles and poked the back in twelve places. Together, they rotated the needles to keep the qi circulating in the body.

After a while, the needles were removed.

"I feel my energy slowly coming back," remarked Ah Keong.

"The stimulation of your meridian points will give him a boost. However, his system is still weak," said Shi Mei to Yiji. "He will need to take medicine."

Yiji nodded. “You had better not go back to work for the warden after this,” he told Ah Keong.

“I have to,” said Ah Keong weakly. “I do not know how to do anything else apart from being a prison jailor. Besides, I took half a month's advance salary so I still have to work that off."

"That man is vicious. He may beat you up again," said Wen Yiji. "You should take another job elsewhere."

"Oh, don't worry. He has beaten me a several times before," said Ah Keong. "I survived. And I am not the only jailor who got beaten by him."

"You may have more broken ribs in the next beating!"

"It's all right, Master Wen. I know how to take care of myself."

"That's what they all say!"

"Don't worry about me! Worry more for yourself. Ever since you kicked him in the balls, he has been the laughing stock of the courtesans when he can't perform. I hear him cursing your name almost every day!"

"Cursing my name? No wonder I have so much bad luck! That's it; I am going to slap his mouth so crooked that even his favourite courtesan will not be able to recognise him!"

"Better avoid him, Master Wen. May I know who is this lady?”

Wen Yiji introduced Shi Mei. After that, he and Shi Mei went out to a medicine shop to buy herbs.

They came back and Shi Mei instructed the mother, “There are ten packets of herbs here. Boil two packets a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. For each packet, use three bowls of water and boil until only one bowl of liquid remains. Make sure he drinks all of the medicine.”

“Thank you very much,” said the mother. “I should invite you for food except that there is no food in the house. Please excuse us.”

“I have some potatoes in my carriage,” said Wen Yiji. “I would like you to have them.”

He then took all his remaining sacks of Liufa potatoes and left them with Ah Keong’s mother.

“Oh, no,” protested the mother. “I can’t possibly take all your potatoes. You will have nothing left to sell or eat!”

“Don’t worry,” said Wen Yiji. “I have been eating these potatoes for a long time and am quite tired of them. Besides, they are about to sprout shoots soon and can’t be sold for a good price. I may as well give them to you. If you don’t like them, you can always give them to your neighbours.”

The old woman nodded thankfully. She would use them to barter for rice and vegetables later.

When Yiji left Ah Keong’s house later, he felt a dull pain in his heart. The warden would not forgive Ah Keong that easily. He was fearful that once Ah Keong returned to work for the warden, the beating would start again. Ah Keong was too slow in the head to understand that he might not survive the next beating. Warden Sai was a vicious creature with a long memory.

Wen Yiji came to a decision; he would have to pay the warden another visit.

+ + + + + +

At the Li-Khor prison, Warden Sai looked apprehensively at the mao shan sifu that had just been introduced to him by Ah Chong, one of his jailors. The sifu was a thin and dark mousy man with a moustache.

Well, sifu,” said the warden. “The problem is ….”

“Stop!” interrupted the sifu. “The yin qi.....I feel it, emanating here! The evil presence is strong! Very powerful!”

“You can feel it? You can feel that the ghost is here?”

“With my thousand li eyes, who can escape?” retorted the sifu. “The unclean spirit is high, but higher is the mao shan!”

“Is this unclean spirit dangerous?”

“Extremely. Vengeful, it is. Tonight, someone sure die! Horribly!”

“Who?”

“Anyone whose life force is weak! The ghost will slap first and kill later!”

The warden experienced a sudden attack of panic.

“Sifu,” he cried. “You have to help me!”

"Of course, of course," said the mao shan sifu placatingly. "I will do a ceremony to pacify the spirit. But these things cost money."

“How much will it cost?”

"The setting up of the altar will cost 10 taels. The blood of a black dog will cost 8 taels. The chanting will cost 4 taels. The talisman for every jailor will cost 1 tael each. Then the holy water will cost....."

"Wait," interupted the warden. "You add like that and it will soon be a hefty sum! All for just one ghost! Don't you have a package deal?"

"You are right! Tell you what.....since you are Ah Chong's boss, I will offer you a package. The cheapest package is the junior package, costing thirty taels. If you sign up for the junior package, I will provide one hundred talismans. Your staff will have to wear them so that the ghost will not try to hide in their bodies when I try to catch it."

"Good," said the warden.

"But boss," cried the jailor, Ah Chong. "We have more than one hundred staff. One hundred talismans where got enough?"

"They can share!" decided the warden. "Tell every jailor to stay in their rooms and then put only one talisman on their room door so that the ghost cannot enter. Like that sure enough! I am not going to pay for a more expensive package."

"Under the junior package, I will catch the ghost tonight," said the sifu. "Then I will free it someplace else."

“If you free the spirit, it will find its way back here!" protested Warden Sai. "You must kill it!”

“The ghost is already dead," noted the sifu nonchalently. "What is already dead cannot be killed anymore!”

“No, no, no!" cried the warden. "I want it gone! Totally gone!"

“Ahhh….in that case you must opt for the Superior package!" said the sifu. "I will trap the spirit in a bottle. Then I put in my Special A1 acid. It will dissolve the spirit into nothing. But expensive. One hundred taels.”

“Why so expensive?”

“Special A1 acid very expensive!”

“I don’t want Special A1 acid! Ordinary acid will do! Reduce the price of the package!”

“You don’t understand. The package also includes a trip to a temple. After the ghostbusting ceremony, I will take you to a temple so that you can soak your body in holy water. That way, no other ghost will attack you this year.”

“I don’t want to go to a temple!”

“You have to! Once one ghost has attacked you, other ghosts will follow because they will think that you are an easy victim! The soaking process in the holy water is very important. You are getting a lot for the Superior package!”

The warden fumed. The ghost was costing him money. He finally bargained the price down to eighty taels.

The mao shan sifu insisted on being paid upfront.

“Pay now,” he said. “In advance.”

“No,” argued the warden. “I pay only after you have done what you are supposed to do. How will I know that you will not disappear once I have paid you?”

“You don’t pay, I don’t come,” argued the mao shan sifu back. "No money, no talk!"

“I pay you ten taels first,” countered the warden. “Balance later!”

“Twenty!” said the sifu.

“All right, twenty,” said the warden. “Come back this evening to finish the job and you will get the rest.”

The mao shan sifu collected the twenty taels and then the jailor Ah Chong escorted him out.

On the way out, Ah Chong whispered, "Remember that I take one fifth of the amount as commission from this job. That works out to sixteen taels you owe me! Pay up!”

“Wait till everything is over!” hissed the mao shan sifu.

“When?” asked the jailor.

“After I have taken him to the temple to soak in holy water!”

+ + + + + +

That night, Wen Yiji stood outside the walls of the Li-Khor prison. He thought it strange that not a single guard was around. The outer gates were tightly shut as usual. He pulled out the acupuncture needle from his collar bone area and leapt high onto the walls. By keeping his legs tucked under him as he leaped, he became invisible. When he was perched up on the high wall, he looked down at the courtyard inside and a strange sight greeted his eyes.

A temporary altar had been set up in the inside courtyard of the prison and a man in a Taoist priest costume was waving a wooden sword in front of it. Beside him stood a young lad, his apprentice.

"Tian ling ling, di ling ling," chanted the mao shan sifu. "Tian ling ling, di ling ling."

"So, this must be the mao shan sifu that they have hired to catch me!" concluded Wen Yiji. "I wonder if he can see me!"

In the shadows behind the mao shan sifu, Warden Sai stood still and watched the proceedings. Wen Yiji leapt softly from the walls onto the ground and stayed in the crouching position, thus remaining invisible.

The mao shan sifu heard him. He picked up a bell and rang it, before chanting,

"Tian ling ling, di ling ling

Hear the mao shan sifu calling

Tian ling ling, di ling ling

Reveal your self, you hum ka ling!"

"Do you see him?" asked the apprentice to his sifu.

"He is standing over there!" said the sifu as he pointed a finger in Wen Yiji's direction. Wen Yiji had the shock of his life; he had not realized that he could be so easily detected.

The sifu and the apprentice threw a bowl of liquid each at Wen Yiji. The liquid was the blood of a black dog. Quickly, Wen Yiji moved sideways to avoid the flying blood. He was not quite fast enough and some blood landed on his shoes.

“Arhhh……..tiawww,” he cursed.

“So!” exclaimed the mao shan sifu. “We have a male Hakka ghost!”

"Do you think we got him with the blood?" asked the apprentice.

"Of course!" answered the sifu.

The warden came out of the shadows and cried excitedly, "You got him? Good! Very good! Where is he?"

“He is somewhere inside the magic circle!” replied the sifu smugly. "Once splashed by a black dog's blood, he won't be able to get out!"

Wen Yiji looked around him. In the faint light of the moon, he could see that a large circle had been drawn in the sand and he was inside it.

“Did you really saw him, sifu?” asked the apprentice.

"No, but I heard him landing on the ground," answered the sifu.

“Ah!” muttered Wen Yiji to himself. “So, I am also invisible to the mao shan sifu!”

The warden was apprehensive. He asked the mao shan sifu, “How can you subdue him if you can’t see him?”

The mao shan sifu pulled out a large leaf from his bag and said, “I will use the Pomelo Leaf Vision!”

He covered one eye with the pomelo leaf and then peered into the area within the circle.

Wen Yiji waited anxiously to find out if he could be seen in this manner.

“I see him!” cried the sifu. “My, what a hideous looking creature!”

Wen Yiji fumed. He hated to be called a hideous looking creature. Worse still, he was not invisible to Pomelo Leaf Vision.

“I will go into the circle and slash the evil presense with my peach wood sword until he reveals himself!” said the sifu.

So saying, the sifu jumped into the circle in the sand and started slashing away.

“Impressive footwork!” thought Wen Yiji. “But he is slashing at the wrong spot! Obviously, the Pomelo Leaf Vision does not work!”

He duckwalked out of the circle and headed for the warden.

"Sifu! Sifu! He is over there," cried the apprentice, pointing to a spot behind Wen Yiji. “The ghost has gotten out of the circle! I can see his footprints in the sand!”

The sifu paused in his impressive strokeplay. He looked in the direction of Wen Yiji and then rushed over. Grabbing a handful of sesame seeds from a pot, he threw. The apprentice did the same.

The sesame seeds spread out in the air and some landed on Wen Yiji’s hair.

“What is that mao shan idiot trying to do?” he wondered. “Spice me to death?”

"Black sesame disperses all evil!" yelled the sifu. "Show yourself, you unclean spirit!"

Wen Yiji had enough. He leapt up in the air towards the warden who was covered with paper talismans on every side. The invisible pugilist swung his fist sharply and was rewarded with the cracking sound of a rib breaking. The impact sent the warden flying through the air.

“One broken rib for Ah Keong!” noted Yiji. “Let’s see…..Ah Keong suffered two broken ribs. I will have to break one more rib!”

"Ayoohhhh!" cried the warden. "These talismans........supposed to prevent ghost....... from touching me! Ta ma de!"

"The talismans don't work!" yelled the apprentice. "What do we do, sifu?"

"Pass me the San Kwang mirror, quick!" said the sifu. "Maybe I can see the ghost’s reflection in it!"

Wen Yiji was about to go and hit the warden a second time but the mao shan sifu was in his path and was looking in an eight-sided octogonal mirror.

"A good dog does not block the road," he commented aloud. He then palm blasted the mirror out of the hands of the shocked sifu.

"I heard him!" cried the apprentice. "He was speaking! Kill him, sifu! Kill him!"

"With what?" asked the sifu.

"Use the coin sword!" suggested the apprentice.

The sifu rushed to the table altar and picked up a long object made entirely from coins tied together with a red string to become the shape of a sword.

Wen Yiji leapt towards the warden and aimed another powerful punch at the ribs. The fearful warden had sensed a presence and he ducked instinctively. The punch landed on his jaw instead, breaking it. He flew backwards from the impact and muttered a stream of curses.

“Gidda ghod wei fum me!” he screamed. “Gidda ghod wei fum me!”

“What did you say?” asked the sifu.

The apprentice responded, “I think he said ‘Gidda ghod wei fum me! Gidda ghod wei fum me!’”

“I know what he said!” yelled the sifu at his apprentice.

“Then why you asked?” yelled back the apprentice.

“I just did not understand what he said!”

“Oh…..I think he meant to say to get that ghost away from him!” replied the apprentice.

The mao shan sifu glared at his apprentice as he waved the coin sword and chanted, "Tian ling ling! Di ling ling! Tian ling ling! Di ling ling!"

Wen Yiji was getting irritated. The mao shan sifu’s noisy antics was getting on his nerves. He delivered a palm blast and it caused the sword to be blasted apart into individual coins. The coins were strewn all over the courtyard as they fell.

"Destroy him sifu!" shouted the apprentice.

"How?" shouted the sifu.

"I don't know!" replied the apprentice. "You the sifu......not me!"

The warden had enough. It was apparent to him that the sifu had lost the fight with the ghost. "They say that the best way to confront a ghost is to run," he thought to himself as he ran to the inner gate.

Wen Yiji kicked the altar table and it fell onto the ground, scattering the paraphernalia of black magic on it. Then he leapt after the warden. The warden passed through the gate and Wen Yiji leapt in after him. The warden quickly closed the gate, thinking that he was safe.

The apprentice stared at their fallen altar and asked, "What do we do now, sifu?"

"We may have to run!" his sifu answered. "This ghost is powerful! Very powerful!”

"What about the warden?" asked the apprentice as he quickly pickup their stuff.

"The ghost is his problem! Not ours! And anyway, I did not receive full payment. This is as far as my services go."

"You are right. Also, we have no more weapons to fight the ghost."

"Wait! There is one more!"

"What is that, sifu?"

"The urine from a virgin boy!"

“Where to get?”

“You are a virgin. Start urinating!”

"Don't look at me, sifu. I am no more a virgin!"

"What? You idiot! When did you lose your virginity?"

“Two days ago!”

“How?”

"Err...... your daughter said that I had a wild spirit in my pants and that was why it bulged out like a wooden rod in the morning! She said that I needed to get it exorcised!"

“What?”

“It was her fault! She took off my clothes and took off her clothes. Then she exorcised my erection! She was quite successful, I might add! You have a talented daughter!”

The sifu paused. Then he screamed in fury, "I’ll kill you!"

The poor apprentice ran for his life as the angry sifu chased after him.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji grabbed hold of the hapless warden and the warden fainted out of sheer terror. For a moment, Wen Yiji pondered his next step. Then he took the warden to his office and shaved off the eyebrows. Not content with that, he shaved of the warden's hair. Then he shaved off the moustache and beard. He then stripped the warden down to the underclothes. Carrying the fainted warden across his shoulder, he walked to the old wing.

There were no jailors around as they had all been sent to their rooms before the ghost catching ritual. He grabbed the keys to his former cell from the wall. Turning into his visibility mode, he approached his former cell and opened the door. Then he threw the warden inside and locked back the cell door. The inmates of the cell, the Luan Luan Kan Gang were half asleep. They were surprised to see that a shaven man had been thrown into their cell.

"Hey, Ah Sir! You have thrown a monk in here with us!" a sleepy voice said. "What was his crime?"

“Delusions of grandeur,” answered Wen Yiji. “He thinks that he has the powers of the emperor!”

“That is usurping the powers of the Emperor!” noted the voice. “It is treason! Sure die!”

“Don’t let him bully you!" advised Wen Yiji. "He will tell you that he is a very important person once he wakes up!"

“Don’t worry!” replied the voice. “In this cell, the most important people are us, the Luan Luan Kan Gang!”

A gruff voice within the cell spoke, "This isn't the female prisoner that we requested."

“Look, I went to a lot of trouble to arrange for him to be in your cell!” snarled Wen Yiji. “You want me to take him away?”

“No! No! No!” said the gruff voice in a placating manner. "Never mind. No fish, prawn also good! Thank you, Ah Sir!"

"No!" answered back Wen Yiji with a smirk. "Thank you!"

Then he walked away.

The members of the Luan Luan Kan Gang were fully awake by now. It did not take long for them to decide how to greet the newcomer. They undressed the unconscious warden and took turns with him.

+ + + + + +

In the morning, the jailors woke up and wondered if the previous night’s ghost-catching activity was successful. They removed the talismans that were fixed to their doors.

“Where is the warden?” one of them asked.

“Ah Chong said that the mao shan sifu probably took him to a temple to soak in holy water,” replied another jailor.

“Which temple?”

“Ah Chong did not know.”

“Let’s hope that the ghost-catching ceremony was successful. Otherwise he will be in a terrible mood!”

“We can always drag out a poor prisoner for him to beat so that he can vent his frustrations.”

“Yes. Otherwise he will beat one of us for sure!”

Down in the last cell of the old wing of the prison, Warden Sai woke up. He discovered that he was naked and that his ass was sore. He also discovered, to his horror, that he was in a prison cell.

“Where are my clothes? Where are my clothes?” he screamed.

“I think the new prisoner has woken up,” noted the man with the gruff voice. “Do we give him back his clothes?”

“Maybe,” replied another voice. “He looks kind of obscene without his clothes.”

“What have you done to me, you animals,” snarled Warden Sai. “I am the warden!”

There was a stunned silence in the room.

Then a gruff voice spoke, “Ah......delusions of grandeur! He may not be the real warden but we can always pretend that he is! Has anyone here ridden a warden 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 warden. He tried to fight them off but they bashed him up until his face was swollen and bleeding. Then they rode him mercilessly one by one.

At midday, a jailor came to the old wing to bring the food. The warden struggled to his feet. Impatiently, he waited for the jailor to approach the cell. Once he got out of the cell, someone would be due for a huge thrashing. He rubbed his painful fat butt as he waited eagerly.

Chapter 15: The Casino Royal

The young jailor was tired by the time he reached the last cell. Normally, there were two people distributing the food, but today his partner was unwell and so he had to carry the food all by himself. He had joined the ranks of jailors only the previous month. Being new, he was bullied into doing all the heavy work. This made him irritable and not in the best of moods

At the last cell, Warden Sai impatiently waited for the jailor. Just as the jailor reached the cell, the warden was elbowed out of the way as the five prisoners of the Luan Luan Kan Gang crowded the front of the cell for the food.

“Hey!” shouted the young jailor. “Stop rushing! And why are there six of you? I only brought rations for five people! Who is this naked bald creature?”

“The jailor from the previous shift placed the bald man here,” answered a prisoner. “He’s a monk with delusions of grandeur. He thinks he is the Emperor!”

“I am not the Emperor! I am the warden!” screamed Warden Sai weakly through his broken jaws.

“How dare you claim to be the warden!” thundered the jailor. “Look at you! You don’t even look like him! In fact, you don’t sound like him also.”

“Let me out!” cried the warden. “I am the warden!”

“Not a chance,” sneered the jailor. “If the warden hears you saying that, you will get a thorough thrashing from him!”

“Look at me properly!” cried the warden. “I really am the warden!”

“I am looking at you!” retorted the jailor. “And, my God, I have never seen an uglier looking bald monk! Swollen face, swollen eyes, swollen lips, swollen everything! Looks like got swollen ass also! And for Heaven’s sake, put on some clothes! Damn! Now I have to go back and wash my eyes!”

"Listen, you stupid jailor!" gasped Warden Sai in anger. "Who is your supervisor? Bring him here at once! He will know who I am!"

"If I do whatever you tell me to do, I where got face some more?" scolded the jailor in anger. "Stupid bald monkey!"

"If you don't listen to me, one day when I get out, I will have you beaten like a dog!" threatened Warden Sai. "And then I will throw your dumb ass in jail!"

The young jailor snarled, "You are threatening me? You dare to threaten me? No big no small! I bring food to you animals and all I hear are threats. I think I will stop bringing food to this cell from tomorrow onwards. You animals can starve to death!"

His words had an immediate effect on the five members of the Luan Luan Kan Gang. One of them hastened to reassure the jailor, "Sir! Do not worry, sir! We will make sure that this bald bastard will not speak a word when you bring us our food! We will shut him up tighter than the cheebai of a virgin ant!"

"Yes," said another member. "We will shut him up so tight that even his words cannot slide out sideways with grease! He will have no opportunity to threaten you again!"

"All right!" the jailor responded. "But if I ever hear that bald monkey threatening me again, then there will be no food for everybody in this cell! You hear?"

The young jailor then turned and left without another backward glance.

The other five prisoners glared menacingly at the warden as they ate all the food and drank all the water. They left nothing for Warden Sai. The poor warden sobbed in frustration.

The five other prisoners looked at him with derision.

Finally, one of them spoke, “It is seldom that we see a grown man sobbing. We should be sensitive and show some sympathy.”

“You are right,” spoke another voice. “What should be the most humane thing to do?”

The man with the gruff voice spoke, “The most humane thing to do is to show him some love!”

His other four gang members pondered his words and then yelled, “Hell, yes! Let’s give him some more loving!”

For the second time that day, the warden tried to fight off the men. Forcefully, they held him down and showed him their love. The warden cried woefully. He had never felt so much pain from so much love.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji was feeling pleased with himself. He knew how the Li-Khor prison system worked. The prison operated on only one principle; all prisoners are expendable. He was sure that in the dimly lit cell, the warden would not be recognizable without his hair. The warden would be in there for a long time before he was discovered. By then all hell would break loose. But by then, Ah Keong would probably not be working in that prison anymore, so it did not matter.

After lunch, he drank the bitter herbal stuff that Shi Mei had boiled for him. Shi Mei took his pulse and told him that he was mending nicely. The needle in the collar bone area to maintain his visibility had worked well so far. Then she advised him to rest. However, Wen Yiji was restless. There was nothing to do while he waited to recover his full physical capacity. To entertain himself, he decided to take out a samurai sword from its hiding place in the carriage for some practice. The sword had once belonged to the Kansai Killers.

He wielded the samurai sword in his hands and swung it. During his heyday as an Imperial Guard, he had been trained in many weapons, including the heavy swords that required the two-handed grip. He now used the same method on the samurai sword in his practice.

"This samurai sword is not difficult to handle if one uses the right strokes," he noted to himself.

Shi Mei was busy writing something. She looked up and said, "Brother Wen, you have been wielding that sword for a long time now. You should not be exerting yourself!" cautioned Shi Mei. "Any unnecessary strain can delay your recovery."

"Don't worry," he assured her. "I am only swinging this weapon back and forth, up and down, to and fro, left and right while running at top speed and panting heavily. I am not exerting myself at all!"

"Yes.......of course," she replied, smiling. "But my mind would be more at peace if you would stop doing all that vigorous exercises. And avoid using your Dark Fire energy as well until your system is balanced."

"I can't just keep still while waiting for my body to recover. I will feel bored!"

"Well, if you want to do some exercise, why don't you go for a quiet stroll instead?" she suggested.

"All right," he replied and put down his sword. “I think I will go and visit Ah Keong. Why don’t you stay here and finish writing your book?”

She nodded her head. She had been attempting to write a medical book for the past days while waiting for Wen Yiji to recover. Most of it was about the cures that her father had discovered. The memory of her father was still fresh in her mind. She wanted to put down on paper the things he had said before she forgot them.

Wen Yiji reached Ah Keong’s house and found that Ah Keong was recovering nicely.

“You should not be standing up, Ah Keong,” he said.

“It’s alright, Master Wen, I am able to stand up today for a short period,” Ah Keong replied. “Miss Shi Mei’s medical preparations appear to be working.”

Wen Yiji sat for a while with Ah Keong and then he left. There was one place that he really wanted to visit; the Casino Royal. Yee Ng Chai had said that Ah Long was a loan shark who operated several gambling dens in the Imperial City. But his biggest den was the Casino Royal. It was time he found out who this Ah Long was.

+ + + + + +

At the Red Cliff Mountains, Red Wind led Blackface and Phoenix to a pool at the base of a waterfall. They had been travelling from the Imperial City for days. He enjoyed travelling with Phoenix. Despite the fact that she was mourning, she was still a fun character driven by spontaneous impulses. Blackface was another character altogether; not so much fun to be with.

The Pool of the Devil fish was not known to many people because of its secret location. It was surrounded at the sides by steep cliffs. The three riders were standing on a cliff and looking down at the pool.

“Do not slip and fall into the pool,” Red Wind warned. “Or that would be the last thing you ever do!”

“It looks like an ordinary pool,” commented Phoenix. “I don’t see any fish about.”

“Watch,” instructed Red Wind. He took out a packet of mutton and threw the contents into the pool. Immediately, the water surface churned as huge fishes thrashed about to gobble up the mutton chunks.

“Look at the size of those creatures!” exclaimed Phoenix in awe. “Each one is bigger than a man! It is amazing that they can grow to such a size!”

“What a feeding frenzy!” remarked Blackface, suitably impressed. “If we throw in a cow, I bet that they will eat it up in no time!”

They stared at the pool for a while.

“Do they stay at this pool all the time? Can they go upstream?” asked Phoenix.

“They can’t go upstream,” answered Red Wind. “The waterfall is too high for them to leap.”

“What about downstream?” asked Blackface.

“There is another waterfall downstream,” answered Red Wind. “For some reason, the Devil fish do not go over the downstream waterfall. Thus, they are found only between these two waterfalls. But they are at this pool mostly.”

“I think I will go hunt a monkey and throw it in the pool,” said Blackface. “It ought to be fun to watch the fish tear the monkey in pieces!”

Blackface disappeared among the trees to look for game.

“Urgggh!” said Phoenix. “I don’t think I wish to see senior brother Blackface throw in some poor monkey.”

“I bet he is the most bloodthirsty guy in the Green Scorpion Sect,” said Red Wind.

“Not really,” she said. “Senior brother Whiteface is even more bloodthirsty! Have you been serving Prince Jin for long?”

“Yes,” answered Red Wind. “Almost eight years. He saved my life once.”

“How?”

“I was attacked by bandits a long time ago. They would have killed me but as luck would have it, Prince Jin and his men happened by. He ordered his men to attack the bandits and thus I was saved. Since then, I have served him faithfully.”

Phoenix looked at the pool again. The water was now calm and the Devil fish had disappeared below the surface. The waters looked inviting.

“The day is hot and I am feeling warm. Is there a place where I can bathe?” she asked.

“I can show you a pool upstream where it is safe to bathe,” said Red Wind.

He led her to a path above the waterfall and soon they came to a spot where the river was wide and the water current was not too strong.

“This spot is safe for swimming,” he said. “My friends and I have swum here before.”

“It is a beautiful spot, thank you!” she gushed.

“I will leave you to bathe here in privacy for, say, half a joss stick’s burning time. Meanwhile, I will go upstream to another spot to swim,” he told her.

“Do not attempt to peep at me while I bathe,” she said imperiously.

“Do not worry!” he reassured her. “I am an honourable man.”

She smiled as he went off upstream.

Red Wind found another spot upstream that was suitable for a good swim. Quickly, he took off his clothes and jumped into the water. The cool waters were refreshingly invigorating to his hot sweaty body. He splashed about in the water. Something in the water caught his attention and he pulled it up.

He stared hard.

“Holy bangkali!” he uttered in shock. “This is part of the human skeleton! Someone died here!”

He examined the skeleton closely.

“Oh, shit!” he shouted as he jumped out of the water. “The Devil fish is up here above the waterfall!”

A sudden thought occurred to him. “Phoenix! She does not know that the Devil fish is up here! It will attack her!”

Without stopping to think, he ran downstream using his lightness kungfu to skim across the bushes and rocks on the river back.

Phoenix was naked on a rock on the bank of the river. She had just jumped off the rock to dive into the water when she heard Red Wind shouting, “Stop! The Devil fish is in there!”

It was too late! She was already hitting the water. She sliced through the water feet first and her momentum carried her down to the bottom. As her feet felt rock beneath her, she saw a ferocious shape heading towards her.

Phoenix remained calm. She pushed off powerfully with her feet and her body shot upwards through the water. Her whole body broke through the surface of the water as the Devil fish raced towards her. She knew that her lightness kungfu might not be able to enable her to reach the river bank safely. The fish leapt upwards towards her, with jaws wide open for a quick grab at her feet. She pulled up her legs and the fish passed just below her. With great presence of mind she stepped on the head of the fish in midair and used it as a springboard. The effort gave her a push in the direction of the bank. She landed in ankle deep waters and then quickly retreated to dry land as the Devil fish came near.

“Hahahahaha!” she cried in excitement. “You missed me, you ugly creature! Hahahahaha!”

The truth about Phoenix was that danger excited her, and extreme danger excited her extremely.

“Are you alright?” panted Red Wind with genuine concern, forgetting that he was totally naked.

“Yes!” she replied headily. “My, what a rush!”

The near-brush with death exhilarated her. She was close to having an orgasm.

She dipped her foot into the water. The Demon fish came near and she pulled out her foot with a laugh.

“Stop that!” cried Red Wind. “Do not tempt the creature!”

She moved away from the water’s edge still laughing as the Demon fish swam to the surface and stared at its intended prey. Her excitement had reached a feverish pitch.

Standing behind her, Red Wind admired the smoothness of her curves and then he felt his excitement rising. He was near enough to touch her. The wind blew across his naked body and tingled his balls.

She turned around to face him. He stared at her front without blinking. She allowed him to stare as she noticed his excitement.

“A riddle just came to my mind,” said Phoenix with a slight smile. “What did the hammer say when it encountered the nail?”

“I do not know,” he confessed.

“It said, “I can make it hard on you.” Hahahahahaha!”

He laughed and saw what she was getting at. “All right!” he said. “I admit that you have already made it hard on me!”

“Hardness is a terrible thing to waste,” she remarked, looking appreciatively at the size of his manhood.

“Yeah,” he replied stupidly. Her remarks made him grow bigger.

She could see the heightened state of his urge and it aroused her even further. Throwing decorum to the winds, she reached out with her hand and curled her fingers around his throbbing pole. Slowly, she trailed her fingers along the length of his manhood, gently teasing the head.

“Take me now,” she whispered with a suddenness that surprised him.

He was not going to argue. An invitation was an invitation. He wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her roughly. Then he pushed her onto the ground, got between her legs and pounded her with raw abandon. There was no foreplay and none was needed. Their unbridled lust for each other’s flesh was all they required.

On the nine hundred and ninety-ninth stroke, he came strongly. He collapsed over her, totally exhausted.

“Better get dressed,” she said. “Blackface will be looking for us soon.”

“My clothes are at the other spot up the river,” he said. Quickly, he got up and walked tiredly up the river to collect his clothes.

Phoenix got up and wandered to the edge of the water, still naked. She bent down and took some water from the river to wash between her legs. The Devil fish swam nearby, but could not come ashore.

Phoenix glared at the huge fish. Then she stood up and thrusted her bushy patch at the fish.

“Look all you want!” she told the fish. “But you are not getting this!”

The motion excited her again. Damn! She needed Red Wind’s tool again! Then she heard a sound as a Blackface burst through the bushes.

“Oh,” said Blackface as he stared at her nakedness. “I’m sorry! I did not mean to intrude!”

He made no move to cover his eyes.

She walked towards him and said, “Senior brother Blackface, you know that sifu will probably marry me to senior brother Whiteface. I am Whiteface’s future wife.”

“I know,” said Blackface.

“You know then why you still look?”

“I can’t help it! I am more suitable for you than that white-faced moron!”

“Do you wish to take me?” she asked. The presence of the Devil fish had excited her beyond her usual limits. She needed further satisfaction.

Blackface nodded, unable to speak.

“Then take me now,” she said. “You will not get this opportunity again once I marry Whiteface.”

Rapidly, he tore off his pants and took her. In less than twenty strokes, he was done.

“Huh?” thought Phoenix silently. “Over so fast? No time to even blink my eyes!”

She kept quiet politely. Once again, she had to wash between her legs.

“Better get dressed,” she told the exhausted Blackface while she put on her clothes. “Red Wind said that we have another long journey ahead. Go prepare the horses.”

Blackface was tired. All he wanted to do was roll over and sleep. However, he managed to pull on his pants and then went to collect the horses.

When Red Wind appeared, the three of them rode south towards the direction of Shibai. Phoenix rode with a smirk on her face. But the two men appeared exhausted.

+ + + + + +

Wen Yiji found the Casino Royal. It was a busy place and catered to a classier clientele than most gambling dens. The inside was clean and opulently decorated. It was little wonder that the place was frequented by wealthy merchants and imperial officials. Every table was occupied with gamblers attempting to pit their gambling skills against the house. Some were lucky; most were not.

Wen Yiji found himself at a taisai table. The game was taisai played with three dices shaken between a plate and an overturned bowl. The players betted on the outcome of the tumbling dices. If the combined result of the roll was between four and ten, it was termed ‘Small’. If the result was between eleven and seventeen, it was termed ‘Big’. If the result of the dice roll was a triplet (three of the same kind), then the house would win all bets. But if the player had betted on a specific triplet appearing, like three ones, then the payout would be one hundred to one.

Wen Yiji’s former cellmate Amos had once told him that the way to win was to bet against a loser. There was always some poor bastard with a losing streak. Somehow, his instincts would be faulty and everything he did would be wrong, so betting in the opposite direction as the loser made a lot of sense.

Walking among the tables of gamblers, Wen Yiji spotted what looked like a loser; a fat merchant with a big mouth. Quickly, Wen Yiji joined the table. The dealer placed three dices onto a plate, covered them with an overturned bowl, and then shook them. After a few shakes to allow the dice to tumble freely, the dealer called out, “Come ah, buy ah!”

The fat merchant placed five taels at the position marked ‘Big’ on the table. Immediately, Wen Yiji betted two taels on ‘Small’. The dealer lifted the overturned bowl from the plate to show the dice faces; one, three and four.

“One, three, four…..small!” shouted the dealer. He scooped up the money of the fat merchant and then paid Yiji his winnings. The merchant cursed colourfully.

After twenty rounds, Wen Yiji had won sixteen taels.

The fat merchant glared at him and said, “Friend! When I bet big, you bet small. When I bet small, you bet big. It looks like you have no confidence that I can win!”

“You have had a run of bad luck for some time now,” remarked Wen Yiji.

“Ahhh……but my winning streak could be just round the corner!” said the man. “Fengshui always change!”

“Hmmmmm…….you could be right!” agreed Wen Yiji. “Maybe I should follow what you bet in the next round!”

In the next round, the merchant betted on Small and Wen Yiji followed suit. The dealer opened ‘Big’ and they both lost.

“Damn!” cursed the merchant. “Why did you have to follow me? Two many bets will sink the ship! You are a jinx!’

“You are right!” commented Wen Yiji. “I should go back to my way of betting opposite to you.”

In the next twenty rounds or so, Wen Yiji won another yet another sixteen taels. He then moved to the next table and followed the same strategy. Towards closing time, he had won seventy taels.

Seventy taels was not a very big sum, but it could feed several poor families for a month. Thus, Wen Yiji was feeling very pleased with himself. He swung his money bag containing his winnings of seventy taels nonchalantly and glanced at the big table at the far end of the hall. The table was for big time gamblers only and he recognized a few ministers seated at the table. He decided to go over there to watch the action.

As he approached, one of the casino workers grabbed his arm and said, "You have a needle sticking out from your collar bone area. Let me pull it out for you!"

"Mind your own business!" he hissed at the worker, but the nosey man had already made a play for the needle. In uncharacteristic panic, Wen Yiji twisted his body and lifted his hand to block the move. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but his money bag flew into the air and landed onto the table in front of the ministers with a loud "Thump!"

The female dealer at the table looked up and said, "The minimum bet is twenty taels."

"That's my money," called out Wen Yiji in embarrassment. He turned to glare at the casino worker who had already scooted off. Shaking his head, he walked forward to claim his money bag.

However, while he was trying to walk around some of the people standing there, the female dealer lifted the bowl to reveal the position of the dices.

"One, one, one........the house takes all.......except for the gentleman who betted on the three ones!" she announced.

Before Wen Yiji could reach the table, she opened the money bag and said, "I am sorry sir, but the rule here states that the maximum bet for three ones is thirty taels!"

"What?" asked Wen Yiji, not comprehending.

"The payout is one hundred to one. You have about seventy taels here. The house rules state that even if you betted more than thirty taels, we will pay you three thousand taels only."

"What?" asked Wen Yiji, still not comprehending.

"Rules are rules!" she said and then turned to a thin assistant by her side. "Pay him three thousand."

Then Wen Yiji saw that his money bag had landed on the area of the table marked for betting on three ones. He looked at the dice on the plate and saw that the result was three ones.

"What the....I'll be....." he could only stutter in surprise. The thin assistant shoved a small sack of money containing gold, silver and a combination of paper money towards him. Automatically, he took it without thinking. Taking the sack, he walked away from the table. In his excitement, he forgot about his small bag of seventy taels.

"Stand aside," a rough voice said to the female dealer, "I'll tumble the dice!"

"Yes, boss," said the dealer. She stepped aside and allowed her boss, Ah Long, to tumble the three dices between the plate and upturned bowl.

The gamblers at the table placed their bets.

Wen Yiji realized that he had forgotten to take back his seventy taels. He turned and walked back to the table.

At that moment, Ah Long lifted up the bowl to reveal the faces of the three dices.

"Wah......three ones again!" cried a minister who was seated at the table. "Twice in a row!"

Wen Yiji saw that his money bag was still on the spot of the table marked for betting on three ones. He grinned. Then he looked at Ah Long expectantly. Ah Long stared back.

"What's taking so long?" asked the minister impatiently. "You don't have enough money to pay the man?"

"No, no, no," said Ah Long hastily. "The Casino Royal does not run out of money!"

Another sack of three thousand taels was brought out for Wen Yiji. Looking at Ah Long's taut facial expression, Wen Yiji almost died of laughter. By some weird stroke of providence, he had suddenly been richer by more than six thousand taels, enough to buy two decently large houses. He was tempted to leave his seventy taels there to see if the three ones would occur for a third time. However, Ah Long pushed the bag of seventy taels towards him and said, "Take away your money!"

"Why don't you let your lady dealer take over, Master Ah Long? Since you obviously don't have better luck than her?" suggested the minister.

Wen Yiji froze. So that was Ah Long! His face hardened as he pondered his next step. He tied his money bag to his waist, took his two sacks of money and walked away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ah Long whispering to a few of his henchmen. They looked in his direction. Immediately, Wen Yiji was on full alert. It was already close to sundown.

When he left the casino, he knew that he was being followed. Weighed down by the two sacks of money, he staggered as he walked. Ah Long watch him go with an expectant smile. He would soon have his money back, he thought. He had a mild shock when

Wen Yiji turned around to smile at him. “That’s what you think!” Wen Yiji mouthed silently at him.

The men tailing Wen Yiji thought that they had an easy task ahead as they watched Wen Yiji walking as if under great difficulty. In the fading twilight, he turned a corner, crouched down in the shadows, pulled out the acupuncture needle in his collar bone area and waited. His shroud of invisibility covered him and the money he was carrying.

Some ten men came around the corner. One of them asked, "Where did he go? We saw him turn in here! He couldn’t have disappeared so fast!"

“Maybe he ran, or used lightness over the rooftops!” said another voice.

"Don't tell me that we have lost him!" cried another man. "Ah Long, will throw a fit!"

Immediately, three men jumped up the roofs of the nearby buildings and raced along the roof tops. The other men divided themselves up quickly and ran hither and thither, but in the deepening darkness, they soon had to give up the search. Wen Yiji was about to pick himself up and walk when the men came and gathered at where he was crouching invisibly.

"What are we to tell the boss," asked a voice. "That all ten of us lost sight of the gambler? Ah Long will never believe us.”

“We are supposed to rob the gambler and relieve him of the money he won from us,” remarked another voice. “If we do not take the money back to the casino, Ah Long will suspect that we took the money ourselves!"

"Yes," said another man. "He is a suspicious old bastard! He'll think we kept the money!"

"Let's tell him the truth; that the man ran too fast for us to catch up!" suggested somebody.

"Are you nuts?" asked another voice in the dark. "Ah Long will not believe that a man weighed down by two sacks of silver can outrun us! It is better that wel tell him that the gambler had great kungfu.....that he fought with us and then escaped in the night!"

The men argued back and forth. Wen Yiji waited patiently for the men to finish arguing so that he can get up and walk away. The night was already on them and he knew that they would not see him. However, he knew that the sound made by the silver and gold taels in the sack would give him away. He wondered if he was strong enough yet to fight ten men. He knew that he had an advantage of invisibility in the darkness of the night. The few stars in the night sky would not be of much help to his opponents. There was one other thing; Shi Mei had told him to avoid using his Dark Fire energy while his body was still recovering. He settled down in his crouching position to wait until it was safe to leave.

The men, however, showed no sign of leaving. Even in the darkness, they were still arguing among themselves.

“I am telling you,” a voice in the dark insisted. “We will look very stupid if we tell Ah Long that we lost sight of the gambler. He will think that we were in cahoots with the gambler. It is best that we tell Ah Long that we fought with the gambler and then he escaped in the darkness.”

The majority of the voices agreed with the opinion.

From his crouching position, Wen Yiji added his opinion, "He'll never believe that either.....unless you have bruises to prove that you had been in a fight!"

In the darkness, the men could not tell that the voice of Wen Yiji did not belong to any one of them.

"That is a good idea," agreed a voice. "We will have to beat each other up a bit to show some bruises. As long as our faces got red red a bit, it will look like we have been in some action!"

The rest concurred. Gingerly, they felt around for each other and then slapped each other's faces gently

Whup! Whup! Whup! Whup! Whup! Whup! Whup! Whup! Whup! Whup!

"Hit harder!" said Wen Yiji. "Or the bruises will not be believable!"

The men walloped harder.

Doosh! Doosh! Doosh! Doosh! Doosh! Doosh! Doosh! Doosh! Doosh! Doosh!

"Harder still!" insisted Wen Yiji in the darkness. “Put more effort in it!”

Whammm! Whammm! Whammm! Whammm! Whammm! Whammm! Whammm!

“Use your whole strength!” shouted Wen Yiji. “You have to feel the pain! No pain, no gain!”

Kapow!!! Kapow!!! Kapow!!! Kapow!!! Kapow!!! Kapow!!! Kapow!!! Kapow!!!

While the men were busy hurting each other, Wen Yiji gathered his sacks of money and then carefully sidestepped around them. He walked away from them in the direction he wished to go.

The men were already done with each other.

"Aiiiyoh!!!" cried one voice painfully. "Who was the one shouting all those nasty words of encouragement to us?"

Grinning in the dark, Wen Yiji turned his head towards them and said, “Shut up! It is not yet over! Ah Long will not believe that there was a fight and yet no swords were drawn! There should be some blood dripping from sword wounds to make it look real!"

There was a silence.

"That is a stupid idea!" said a voice. "Who would want to get cut by a sword? Who wants to take the lead?"

No one answered.

"Who wants to volunteer?" asked the same voice.

“Not me!” replied Wen Yiji cooly. He walked away from them as noiselessly as possible, carrying his two sacks of money with him.

One by one, the rest of the men also answered, "Not me!"

Then there was silence until a sullen voice spoke up, "That is very strange! There are ten of us! But I counted eleven voices! One of us here is an imposter!"

The silence that followed was deafening.

After a while, another voice piped up, “Whose voice was that who was shouting to us to hit each other harder?”

There was no answer. Wen Yiji had already left the scene.

Finally, one of the men was then heard to remark slowly, “I think we’ve been had!”