The Human Heart

The rising sun painted the vast sea of clouds gold and red. A great troop of White-headed Apes squatted on the little pines growing from the cliffside, chittering as they pointed at the sun. Some of the more restless monkeys leaped between branches, playing with one another. Only the largest and most powerful male ape crouched cautiously atop a protruding rock, its red eyes constantly scanning its surroundings.

"Waaaah! The last day! A happy life is coming—the last day of hauling water and chopping firewood!" A long howl shook the clouds into rolling waves. The male ape immediately screeched sharply, gesturing wildly as it commanded its troop to flee farther away.

But it was already too late. Amid several muffled incantations, yellow paper talismans scattered from the sky like snowflakes. Threads of tiny blue lightning wrapped around them, then struck the monkeys without the slightest courtesy. How could these mountain apes withstand such electrical blasts? One after another, they shrieked and trembled as they fell from the trees, roaring furiously while lying on the narrow stone path beneath the cliff, their bodies twitching helplessly.

Li Feng came charging down like the wind, carrying enormous iron buckets on a shoulder pole, with an axe weighing over a hundred jin stuck across his back. With a light tap of his toes, he crossed five or six zhang. He slipped past the ape king, which had raised a branch to smash his head, and cackled as he darted by. "Big monkey, don't be mad. This is the last time I'll bother you lot. Hahaha! Starting tomorrow, this young master won't have to haul water anymore, so naturally I won't come looking for trouble with you. Hahaha!"

The ape king sprang up, baring its fangs as though ready to fight to the death. Leaping more than three zhang into the air, it swung a three-foot-long, arm-thick club down at Li Feng's head. Just as the club was about to make intimate contact with Li Feng's skull, an evil wind rose behind it with a whoosh. Little Cat seized it with one paw and slammed it brutally to the ground. Then Little Cat's five- or six-hundred-jin backside sat down on it without ceremony, twisting from side to side atop the ape king before he gave a triumphant roar and raced after Li Feng downhill.

Dazed from being sat on, the ape king leaped up in furious humiliation, issuing a string of chittering cries. The monkeys that had been knocked over by the lightning talismans also scrambled angrily to their feet, grabbing everything they could reach and hurling it downhill. Branches, rocks, and moldy, stinking dried fruit rained down like raindrops. Li Feng and Little Cat fled with their heads covered, escaping in a miserable state amid the troop's excited howls. As he ran, Li Feng suddenly cursed furiously, "Damn it, which dead monkey pissed down here? When I come back, I'll piss right back!"

With his old temper, Li Feng would have tossed out another handful of paper talismans and taught these monkeys a proper lesson. But today was different. This was his third year on the mountain, and also the final day of this dull life of hauling water and chopping wood. Once this last day was over, he could cultivate peacefully at Qingyun Flat every day like Xiao Longzi and the others, no longer needing to perform menial chores. This was what Li Feng, who sought ever greater magic power with all his heart, had longed for most.

Three years had allowed Li Feng to use the simplest Daoist talismanic charms. In particular, thanks to the Candle Dragon Grass within him, along with the various spiritual pills Zhao Yue'er, his biased master, secretly gave him from time to time, his cultivation speed had become terrifyingly fast. He had already entered the Middle Qi Induction Stage. A breath of Innate True Qi within his body revolved ceaselessly like a string of Bright Pearls, and he had entered the Innate Realm dreamed of by martial artists throughout the mortal world.

What had changed most was his build and appearance. His once monkey-thin body now stood more than six chi tall, even a fraction taller than Zhao Yue'er. Since he ate all kinds of spiritual medicine every day, only occasionally sneaking out to eat wild game, he had not a trace of excess fat on him. Every strand of muscle was taut and solid as steel. Once he took off his clothes, his body was covered in sharply defined muscles.

His skin, constantly refined by spiritual medicines, had also become delicate and fair, like the finest mutton-fat white jade. His originally handsome features could now only be called strikingly handsome. Yet the slippery, roguish air in his bones gave his entire face a deeply wicked look. He simply did not look like a good person.

His large, clever eyes constantly darted about restlessly, retaining the instincts of his old trade, just as he had always watched for the location of other people's purses on the streets of Suzhou Prefecture. The hair that Gu Lingzi and Zhao Yue'er's lightning had burned away completely three years ago had now grown down to his waist. But how would this boy know how to arrange his hair? He could only leave it hanging behind his head, fluttering in the wind like a madman. Only when Zhao Yue'er truly could not bear the sight would she tie it into a Daoist topknot for him, making him look like a cultivator.

At this moment, Li Feng had run out with his hair loose. Too excited at heart, he crossed the more than thirty li mountain road down from Qingyun Flat in less than a quarter of an hour, only breathing slightly harder. Wiping the light sweat from his forehead, Li Feng shouted excitedly, "Little Cat, let's go! Hurry! Hahahaha! Once we finish hauling water today, we'll be completely free. When we get back, I'll kill a bear and treat you to it... Just think about it—the bear paw will be dripping with grease in every bite."

Little Cat's eyes filled with greed. Thick saliva poured from the corners of his mouth as he shook his head, swayed his rear, and raced ahead with Li Feng. After secretly eating cooked food with Li Feng for three years, the tiger's appetite had been thoroughly awakened. At the thought of roasted meat filling his mouth with rich fat fragrance, he could not help but grow excited.

Along the way, wisps of morning mist drifted around Li Feng. It was already high summer, but deep within Mount Hua, cool winds still came in waves, with mist and dew day and night. Wearing a coarse blue Daoist robe, Li Feng moved like a ghost, his toes barely touching the ground as he drifted forward with the wind. Having entered the middle stage of Qi Induction, he carried no trace of mortal dust as he traveled and did not stir even the faintest breeze, like an incorporeal ghost.

As he ran, Li Feng swung the heavy axe in his hand, chopping at the surroundings. Trees along the way shattered one after another, becoming firewood roughly three chi long and as thick as an arm. With a casual pull of the heavy axe, the firewood floated lightly into the iron buckets on his shoulder pole, each of which was a full three chi in diameter. By chopping all the way along, he filled two buckets with firewood. Once he reached the stream at the foot of Mount Hua's main peak, he could tie the wood onto his back, fill the buckets with water, and return directly to Qingyun Flat. This was also a strange skill he had trained over the past three years. Seeing that his heavy axe flew up and down without even a leaf touching his body was enough to show how practiced these movements had become.

Little Cat, acting as supervisor, ran wildly after Li Feng, pouncing and tumbling from side to side. The birds and beasts by the roadside fled in panic. Even fierce beasts such as mountain tigers, leopards, wolves, and jackals could only tuck their tails and run upon encountering Little Cat. They were merely ordinary beasts, while Little Cat was a tiger spirit. The gap in cultivation was far too great—who would dare not flee? Even one of the strongest black bears in the mountains could be slapped to death by Little Cat with a single paw.

Li Feng shouted, "Little Cat, go catch a black bear yourself. Wait for me at the Gathering Yuan Formation behind Qingyun Flat. I'll go haul water, and once we're back on the mountain, I'll roast meat for you."

Little Cat nodded and shot like an arrow into the dense forest beside the road. Soon, Little Cat's wild roars rose from within the forest, along with the panicked running of countless beasts and all manner of chaotic sounds. Li Feng laughed loudly at the noise, while the axe in his hand whirled even faster.

He ran like the wind to the stream where he usually fetched water, but from far away, Li Feng heard people talking beside it. There even seemed to be a woman's voice.

Li Feng immediately thought, Wow, an illicit affair? Back in Suzhou Prefecture, Pockmarked Hu slept with Butcher Zhu's wife. We tipped off Butcher Zhu and got to watch a good show. If this is that kind of romantic business too, this young master can catch them in the act. Maybe I can even squeeze some gold and silver out of them. At once, the vile nature of the street punk emerged, and the cultivation gained from reading several hundred Daoist scriptures over the past three years went straight down the drain.

Li Feng quietly hid the iron buckets in the grass within the roadside woods. Then, like a great bird, he traced an arc through the air, silently rising seven or eight zhang. At the highest point, he drew upon the ceaseless Innate True Qi within him once more. His body twisted strangely, floating another three zhang upward until he lay atop the highest ancient pine beside the small pool.

Beside the pool stood a middle-aged man in a black robe, a slender sword at his waist, gazing speechlessly at the water. From Li Feng's direction, he could see most of the man's face: an upright crimson complexion, a faint beard, bright eyes, and a face radiating righteousness. Li Feng immediately took a liking to him and mused, He looks like one of those great heroes from the martial world. Hehe, maybe he's the kind of man A Zhu and I used to dream of taking as a master... Sigh, A Zhu, A Zhu, I wonder what he's doing now?

Li Feng was slightly distracted when the woman in the jade-green dress, standing more than six chi away from the man, said softly, "Senior Brother, about us, you..."

The man shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Junior Sister, it is not that I, Wei Ziqun, lack human feeling. It is that I am currently at the critical point of competing with Third Senior Brother for the position of sect leader. Master has not made up his mind either. If I become burdened by a family now while Third Senior Brother devotes himself solely to advancing in martial arts, our fellow disciples will naturally keep score. I am also studying our sect's supreme arts with all my heart, seeking only to surpass Third Senior Brother and take over the sect smoothly."

Without waiting for the woman in green to speak, Wei Ziqun continued, "I came to Mount Hua to learn swordsmanship as a child. After ten years, I achieved mastery, defeating Cangfeng Fortress's Two Heavenly Dipper Stars and Six Earthly Fiends with my sword, establishing countless merits for the Mount Hua Sword Sect's illustrious reputation. But Third Senior Brother is the sect leader's nephew, so the sect leader favors him somewhat. If I do not work hard, whether the position of sect leader will be mine is still uncertain. Junior Sister, can't you understand your Senior Brother's painstaking heart?... Do you want to marry an ordinary Mount Hua swordsman, or the Mount Hua sect leader?"

Li Feng watched with great interest from the treetop, his mouth hanging open as he marveled inwardly, Whoa, someone from the Mount Hua Sword Sect! By rights, this is still Mount Hua Sect territory. Damn, this fellow can defeat Cangfeng Fortress's Heavenly Dipper Stars? Wouldn't that mean even Old Tou'er isn't his match? Damn, he dares go head-to-head with Cangfeng Fortress. This boy really is a hero. Li Feng's impression of Wei Ziqun improved by another three parts.

The woman in green trembled all over before finally slumping weakly to the ground, her face turned toward Li Feng. Li Feng glanced at her reasonably delicate face and shook his head repeatedly. Damn, ugly goods. She can't compare to my master-wife at all, not even close... Hmm, it's like the difference between Chunyi Tower's ugliest girl and the prefect's daughter of Suzhou Prefecture. Yes, about that level... Hehe, my master-wife is still prettier. A strange smile appeared on Li Feng's face again. Who knew what he was thinking about?

Wei Ziqun said gently, "Junior Sister, do not worry. Once I become the Mount Hua sect leader, I will definitely marry you. I, Wei Ziqun, am a dignified man—would I betray you?"

The woman in green shrieked, "Fine, fine, fine! How much longer before you can become sect leader?"

Wei Ziqun rubbed his palms awkwardly and muttered, "Master is ill, but his internal strength is profound. At the very least, he can probably hold on for another three to five years. Once his body can no longer endure, he will naturally establish the next sect leader. At most, perhaps two years, and I will definitely become sect leader... Junior Sister, let me tell you, I have already comprehended the first four absolutes of the Mount Hua Seven Absolutes. This sword art is truly unfathomable and peerless, immensely powerful. Hmph! Once I master all seven absolutes, will Third Senior Brother still have the face to compete with me for the sect leadership?" For a moment, Wei Ziqun's face shone again, full of confidence and self-satisfaction.

Li Feng muttered softly, "Mount Hua Seven Absolutes? Is it that impressive? When I summon Heavenly Lightning to blast someone from above, what the hell are your few scraps of broken metal swordsmanship worth?" His eyes rolled several times as he secretly took out a golden paper talisman and began arranging the stellar patterns and gathering qi upon it. This Five Thunder Talisman had been drawn by Zhao Yue'er and given to Li Feng for protection. Its power was immense. With Li Feng's current weak magic power, exhausting all his strength would only barely allow him to activate it and summon a single bolt of Heavenly Lightning.

The woman in green finally began to cry and make a scene. "Senior Brother, I... I cannot wait any longer... Five months ago, when we met in secret, I... I... I became pregnant. Never mind two years—even half a year may be too long for me. Wuwu, if I give birth to the child on the mountain, how am I supposed to go on living? Master cares most about his reputation. He will surely drive me from Mount Hua Sect. Senior Brother, you... you... tell me what to do."

Wei Ziqun seemed to have been struck by five bolts of lightning, instantly frozen. "J-Junior Sister, you... you are pregnant? Then that means it has already been five months? Th-this... what should we do? Even if we marry immediately, if you give birth before five months have passed, it will still be a tremendous disgrace. If Third Senior Brother spreads word of it before Master, I... what future will I have? Wouldn't the reputation of me, Wei Ziqun, the Dragon Slayer Swordsman, be utterly ruined?"

Li Feng, who was laying true qi upon the talisman charm, listened with dancing brows and animated eyes. He nearly cheered aloud. This street-born little punk loved gossip most in all his life. Hearing such a splendid exchange, how could he not be delighted? Li Feng stared at Wei Ziqun with eyes that gleamed like a thief's, muttering inwardly, Brother Wei, don't worry. Once this young master Li Feng gets a chance to enter the martial world, I'll definitely spread this far and wide for you. Ha! You fooled around in Mount Hua Sect and got your Junior Sister's belly swollen. Hahahaha... But aren't you a little too undiscerning in your hunger? This woman is only barely tolerable to look at. She cannot even be called pretty.

While entertaining crooked thoughts, Li Feng's true qi flowed unceasingly into the talisman charm. One by one, the talismanic symbols on the Five Thunder Talisman began to emit faint light.

Wei Ziqun bit his lips hard, suddenly stepped forward, and seized the woman in green by both shoulders. He roared, "Tomorrow, I'll buy two taels of safflower. Boil it into soup and drink it, understand? Get rid of the child for me. It cannot be born now. It absolutely cannot be born, or my future and my reputation will all be finished. I, Wei Ziqun, have labored in Mount Hua Sect for twenty years. Everything I have built cannot be ruined by this little bastard."

"Your own son is a bastard? Then you deserve to wear a green hat." Without question, that was Li Feng's profound insight.

The woman in green screamed and desperately struck at Wei Ziqun's hands. "No! This is my child. I cannot get rid of him. I can feel him in my belly. He... he is alive. I cannot get rid of him, cannot get rid of him... Senior Brother, this is your child! How can you be so heartless? You... you... you cannot do this."

Wei Ziqun's ruddy face turned pitch-black as he shouted viciously, "No matter what, you will get rid of him. This bastard absolutely cannot be born... Junior Sister, do you know? I am about to become the Mount Hua Sect leader. I am about to become sect leader. Do you know how great the Mount Hua Sect's reputation is? Do you know how much influence the Mount Hua Sect holds across all Shaanxi? Do you know how powerful the Mount Hua Sect's disciples are in the martial world? Once I become sect leader, all of this will be mine, and then it will be yours too. But you cannot give birth to this child."

The woman in green shouted, "Wei Ziqun, you heartless thing! You want to kill your own child? No! I will definitely give birth to this child, no matter what! This is my flesh and blood. You cannot harm him... Your reputation in the martial world is already great enough, and your influence in Mount Hua Sect is already large enough. Why must you still become sect leader?"

Wei Ziqun's expression became utterly ugly, while the woman sprang up like the wind and ran swiftly toward Mount Hua's main peak. She muttered to herself, "I'm going to tell Master. I want Master to decide for us. I want to marry you. I want to give birth to our flesh and blood... Senior Brother, if you truly love me, marry me and let our child be born safely."

Wei Ziqun cried out in alarm, "Junior Sister, come back! Come back! We can discuss this properly—come back... You... you, I will not allow you to find Master! Come back... Did you hear me?... Damn it! You filthy woman, what are you trying to do?"

In an instant, the righteous air of a great hero vanished from his face, replaced by a terrifyingly savage expression. The woman in green had already darted more than ten zhang away when Wei Ziqun's body soared like a great eagle, crossing seven or eight zhang in a single leap. Then, five zhang in the air, he stretched out his right palm. His palm first drew slightly inward, then suddenly thrust forward.

With a crisp smack, a blast of azure palm wind shot forth, striking the woman in green viciously in the center of her back. Her entire body flew more than three zhang forward, and she spat out blood mixed with shattered internal organs. Li Feng shuddered atop the tree and said in an extremely faint voice, "Damn. What a ruthless fellow, what a hypocritical fellow, what a vicious fellow... What powerful palm force."

The woman uttered one final shriek. "Little Heavenly Star Palm, Senior Brother, you..." She spat out a mouthful of black blood, then her head slammed heavily into the ground. Her breath was cut off, and she died.

Wei Ziqun stared blankly at the woman in green's corpse and said numbly, "You forced me to do this. If you had not acted this way, I would not have acted this way. You... you wanted to tell Master. You wanted to ruin my future and destroy a lifetime of my efforts. Junior Sister, did you not want a husband of towering fame? You... you insisted on ruining our future? This cannot be blamed on me."

Li Feng stared blankly at Wei Ziqun as a chill slowly spread through his heart. He had seen dead people before—street punks beaten to death by Tiger Boss and the others during gang fights. But he had never seen anything like this. They had been lovers only moments ago, yet now this man could kill her without hesitation. An inexplicable confusion, an inexplicable bleak coldness, enveloped Li Feng. He did not know how to distinguish what stood before his eyes...

Wei Ziqun stood there blankly for a while, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Junior Sister, this cannot be blamed on me. A true man should accomplish great things. Romantic attachments are never lasting... Hmph. So long as I can become the Mount Hua Sect leader and deliver a group of experts to the imperial court, glory and wealth will be within easy reach. One woman—forget it, forget it..." He suddenly lifted a huge rock from beside the stream and smashed it viciously onto the woman in green's back.

Li Feng suddenly understood. That so-called Little Heavenly Star Palm would probably be recognized by Mount Hua Sect. He's destroying the evidence. Hmph, just like when we picked a pocket, we had to dispose of the purse immediately. I need to learn this trick.

After watching Wei Ziqun busily work below for quite some time, painstakingly disguising the corpse to look as though she had been beaten to death by a group, Li Feng's fingers trembled. The Five Thunder Talisman, already filled with true qi, erupted with a boom. With a thunderous crash, a gigantic bolt split the clear sky. A mass of lightning fire nearly a zhang across descended from heaven, striking directly at Wei Ziqun's head.

Wei Ziqun was indeed one of Mount Hua Sect's notable experts. Seeing the lightning fire descend upon him, he shifted violently aside, flashing more than three zhang away in an instant. The lightning fire exploded with a rumbling roar upon the woman in green's corpse, blasting it into scattered fragments and charred flesh. Seeing heaven's might as unfathomable, how could Wei Ziqun dare linger? He fled toward Mount Hua like a madman. Faintly, he could be heard praying in a low voice, "Spirits above, it is not that Wei is heartless. I was truly left with no choice... Junior Sister, do not blame me. Your Senior Brother will hold water-and-land rites for you in the future and deliver you into a better rebirth."

Li Feng shook his head and sighed as he floated down from the tree. Looking at the woman's shattered corpse, he had no intention of gathering her remains. He retrieved his iron buckets from the grass, tied up the firewood, filled two buckets with water, hoisted the wood onto his back, lifted the buckets, and sped toward Qingyun Flat.

Little Cat had caught a very fat black bear and was happily waiting up ahead for Li Feng. Li Feng, however, greeted Little Cat somewhat listlessly before returning the way he had come. What had happened today weighed too heavily on Li Feng. It left him unable to see clearly or explain what he felt. The only good thing was that a corner of the black curtain had formally been lifted before him, giving him the ability and mental preparation to face the challenges ahead.

Of course, Li Feng's only realization at the moment was, Damn it, this Wei Ziqun is no good. Once my master-wife marries me, I'll dote on her to death. I won't even bear to hit her, so how could I bear to kill her? Sigh, Master, Master, you've already reached the Early Qi Transformation Stage? Your progress is far too fast, isn't it? You must wait for me. I'm waiting to become your husband and have a good little child with you.

"This young master Li Feng swears that I will cultivate the Dao diligently and make Master marry me as soon as possible... Wahahaha!"

Young at heart after all, Li Feng quickly forgot what he had just witnessed, and all his thoughts turned to Zhao Yue'er. Yet he did not realize that the miserable scene had already been deeply branded into the depths of his heart, like a black stain on a sheet of white paper. One day, it would affect him. One day, he would discover that what happened today had greatly, greatly influenced the road he would walk in the future.

A fierce wind swept through, clearing every cloud from the sky. The sun in the heavens solemnly cast down its light and heat. Beneath the sunlight, Li Feng traveled between the mountain ridges like a tiny insect, running with all his strength as he pursued the immortal path of his dreams.