Moonlit night.
The southern pine forest at the foot of Mount Heng.
"Put down your saber."
"Kick it farther away."
"Farther!"
With a sword blade pressed to his neck, Zhang Yu had no choice but to kick the iron saber two or three zhang away.
The sword spun as its wielder circled around in front of him.
Under the moonlight, Zhang Yu saw that the girl was pretty, with a slender figure and a pair of strikingly bright, lively eyes. She was only fifteen or sixteen, yet already possessed the faint makings of breathtaking beauty.
"I personally caught a remnant of the Demonic Cult. Let's see what Father says when I take him back."
Zhang Yu glanced at the Green Edge Sword still pressed against his shoulder. The chill pierced through his cloth clothes and straight into his skin. However, its wielder seemed to be a novice who had only just entered the martial world, so he quickly came up with a plan.
"Heroine, you... you've misunderstood."
"Misunderstood?"
With a woebegone expression, Zhang Yu said, "I'm a farmer, not a seller of konjac. If you want to eat konjac, you should go to the small town at the foot of the mountain and find Wang the Peddler. His konjac tofu is smooth, refreshing, and absolutely first-rate."
The girl sneered. "Hmph, you still want to fool me! Aren't the clothes you're wearing from the Demonic Cult's Cloud Water Hall?"
"People in the mountains are unbelievably poor. Picking up dead men's clothes to wear is nothing unusual. I heard there was fighting on Mount Heng, so I came to try my luck. I saw a great many corpses and truly shouldn't have let greed get the better of me."
"What about that saber?"
"I took the saber down the mountain to exchange for money. My family still has an eighty-year-old mother waiting for me to buy rice and support her."
The girl sized up Zhang Yu. He was tall and graceful, and although he wore those detestable Demonic Cult clothes, he had phoenix eyes and crescent brows. If his complexion had not been slightly dark, he would have been even more handsome than the leading actress on a stage.
Their eyes met, and she somewhat flusteredly looked away.
"You... you're only seventeen or eighteen yourself. How could you have an eighty-year-old mother? Clearly, you're making that up."
"My mother had me late in life and cherished me like a treasure from the time I was born," Zhang Yu thought. She looks like a novice, but she's quite sharp. Her mind is awfully meticulous. He hurriedly covered himself by saying, "You have parents too, Heroine. If someone killed you while you were away, and they waited anxiously at home only for you never to return, wouldn't they be heartbroken?"
"What you said... does make some sense."
Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and began looking for a chance to escape.
The girl smiled. "However, for me to believe you completely, you must raise your right fist toward the moon and shout three times, 'Dongfang Bubai is the most shameless man under heaven!'"
Zhang Yu smiled ingratiatingly. "Forget three times—even three hundred would be fine. I just don't know who Dongfang Bubai is, how he offended you, Heroine, or what makes him so shameless?"
The girl thrust out her sword. "Enough nonsense! Are you going to shout or not?"
"I'll shout!"
Zhang Yu raised his right fist and shouted at the full moon in the sky.
"Dongfang Bubai is the most shameless man under heaven!"
"Dongfang Bubai is the most shameless man under heaven!"
"Dongfang Bubai is the most shameless man under heaven!"
Two crows flew up from the forest.
Zhang Yu turned around, only to see the girl wearing a sly smile. This is bad. Could I have given myself away somehow?
"Hahahaha, what a crafty thief, and what a glib tongue! I almost can't bear to take you to the Mountain God Temple to see Father."
Zhang Yu asked, "What do you mean?"
The girl gave a cold laugh. "Every member of the Demonic Cult has a black scorpion mark on their right arm. Did you think I hadn't seen it? Could that black scorpion on your right arm have been tattooed by some Wang the Peddler too? What else do you have to argue?"
Zhang Yu sighed. "Since things have come to this, what more can I say?"
The moonlight was as cold as frost, spreading across the forest path.
The girl held a sword in one hand and a rope in the other.
The man's hands were bound behind his back.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To the Mountain God Temple to see my father. Whether you're killed or butchered will depend entirely on your luck."
"Who is your father?"
"Listen well. My father is Sect Leader Yue of the Mount Hua Sect, known throughout the martial world as the 'Gentleman Sword'!"
Zhang Yu exclaimed, "Yue Buqun?"
He sighed inwardly. Could this be Heaven's will? I hid myself so carefully, yet I still ended up falling into the hands of his daughter, Yue Lingshan.
"How dare you! My father is one of the greatest heroes in the martial world, and you actually dare to call him by his name."
As Yue Lingshan spoke, she swung the sword scabbard at him.
Pain struck Zhang Yu's shoulder, and hatred filled his heart.
If he fell into the hands of Yue Buqun, that hypocrite, what good outcome could there be? Relying on an enemy's mercy was cruelty toward oneself. He absolutely could not go to the Mountain God Temple. He had to think of a way to escape immediately.
"Heroine Yue, you've misunderstood. How would I dare show disrespect to your honored father?"
"Mister Yue, the Gentleman Sword, enjoys tremendous prestige throughout the martial world. Even our Eastern Cult Master treats him with great respect."
"He often warns the cult members that when traveling the martial world, they can ignore anyone else, but whenever they see Mister Yue of the Mount Hua Sect, they must retreat thirty li."
Yue Lingshan deliberately asked, "Why does Dongfang Bubai say that?"
"Eastern Cult Master says that Mister Yue's Purple Cloud Divine Skill is unfathomably profound, and that with a single palm strike he could sever the Yangtze River. As for Mount Hua Swordplay, it is exquisitely brilliant. Even if our cult's Ten Great Elders joined forces, they would probably still be defeated."
Yue Lingshan felt pleased. Although Dongfang Bubai was a member of the Demonic Cult, he was the undisputed greatest expert in the martial world today. Receiving his recognition in martial arts was something worth celebrating, even if they belonged to opposing factions.
"This Hero Yue..."
Suppressing his disgust, Zhang Yu heaped extravagant praise upon Yue Buqun. He secretly glanced at Yue Lingshan and saw delight spreading across her brows, confirming that he had taken the right approach.
Boys and girls of this age were in the midst of blindly idolizing their elders. Besides, Yue Buqun truly had an excellent reputation in the martial world.
The smile at the corners of Yue Lingshan's lips was impossible to hide. "What else do you know? Tell me everything."
Zhang Yu continued, "I also heard that aside from possessing transcendent martial skill, Mister Yue's character is impeccable. People in the martial world say that Mister Yue is benevolent, and that Lady Ning is frugal. He wears patched trousers year-round, yet still helps the poor."
Yue Lingshan giggled. "That... that's somewhat exaggerated, but it's true that my parents are kindhearted."
Zhang Yu grew anxious. They were about to leave this pine forest, and he had no idea how much farther the Mountain God Temple was.
If he fell into Yue Buqun's hands, or ran into other Mount Hua Sect disciples along the way, he would have no hope of escaping.
Zhang Yu looked toward the dense forest beside the road. Suddenly, he stopped, his expression turning pained as beads of sweat sprang up on his forehead.
Yue Lingshan asked, "What's wrong?"
"My stomach hurts. I'm afraid I need to relieve myself."
"No."
"Then I can only do it in my pants."
"Don't!"
Yue Lingshan stared at his face. Seeing that he did not seem to be faking it, she asked tentatively, "You're not planning to take the chance to escape, are you?"
Zhang Yu lowered his head as though resigned to his fate. "With Heroine Yue's martial arts, where could I possibly escape to?"
Yue Lingshan chuckled. "I knew you didn't have that ability."
The sword left its scabbard and severed the rope around his hands.
"Don't go too far. I have to be able to see you. Hold the rope; this end is in my hand. If I tug on it and there's no response from the other side, this heroine will immediately charge in with her sword and stab you until you're dead."
As the earliest disciple to enter the Mount Hua Sect, Yue Lingshan had received family instruction from childhood and learned many tales of the martial world from her parents and fellow disciples. However, she had experienced little of it herself, and her experience was still lacking.
"Thank you, Heroine Yue."
Zhang Yu deliberately took two steps before hurriedly beginning to loosen his clothes.
"Go a few more steps."
Hearing this, Zhang Yu walked into the woods and, following her instructions, stopped somewhere he could still vaguely be seen.
Yue Lingshan held her sword and turned around. She looked at the moon overhead, beautiful as a white jade plate. There seemed to be dark, cottony shapes within it, which should have been the cassia tree, the Moon Palace, and the immortal Chang'e, who had taken the elixir and left the man she loved.
"I wonder where Eldest Brother has run off to drink this time, making Father gnash his teeth in anger. Once I capture this little thief and cheer Father up, I hope he'll go easy on the punishment. He only thrashed Eldest Brother's backside last month, and it still hasn't fully healed."
"Still, although this little thief is a member of the Demonic Cult, he doesn't look like a vicious criminal. Perhaps he merely lost his way. I might be able to ask Father to spare his life."
Yue Lingshan glanced back from time to time. That patch of blue remained in place. But after a long while without any movement from the woods, she hurriedly tugged the rope, only to find it completely unmoving.
"Oh no, the little thief ran away. Eldest Brother's backside is going to get thrashed again!"
She carried her sword and charged into the dense forest along the rope, only to see the blue garment hanging from a treetop. The man had probably already run far away.
"What a crafty little thief."
Yue Lingshan lowered her sword dejectedly.
In the darkness, a stone flew over and struck the girl's shoulder. Caught off guard, she dropped her long sword.
In the next instant, something sharp pressed against her.
"What are you pressing against my lower back?"
"An iron spear! Don't move. If you move, it'll go straight through you." Zhang Yu laughed as he threw her own words back at her.
She raised her head. "Kill me, then. A Mount Hua heroine, Yue Lingshan, isn't afraid of death."
"Fine. Once you're dead, I'll strip off your clothes, write 'Mount Hua Sect Heroine Yue Lingshan' on you, and throw you into the street so everyone from the Five Great Sword Sects can take a good look at the splendor of a Mount Hua heroine."
Misty tears welled in Yue Lingshan's eyes. She said resentfully, "You truly are a vicious criminal of the Demonic Cult! I even planned to beg Father to spare your life, and this is how cruel you are!"
Zhang Yu laughed smugly. "I'm merely returning your own method to you."
Using the rope, he bound the girl's hands behind her back just as before. He tossed aside the branch, picked up the fallen sword, and drew it. Its name was 'Jade Water,' and its cold gleam was formidable. It was two grades better than his own common iron saber.
Yue Lingshan was only fifteen or sixteen after all, and she was somewhat frightened. "Little thief, let me go, all right?"
"If I let you go, what if you bring people here?"
"I won't. I swear."
"Didn't Mister Yue tell you that, when traveling the martial world, swearing an oath is the same as farting?"
"That's true of you members of the Demonic Cult. My father is a righteous hero of the Righteous Path who keeps his word. How could he say something like that?"
"True. People of the Righteous Path can't say such things, but they can do them."
Under the moonlight, Zhang Yu held the sword in one hand and the rope in the other.
The balance of offense and defense had shifted.
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