The Maiden Abi

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Flying Locust Stones whistled through the air and struck the Fengfu points at the backs of their necks with just enough force to instantly cut off the flow of Qi and blood. Steel sabers clattered to the deck, and the two "camellia women" toppled backward, immediately entering dreamland.

"Seize the thief!"

Another dozen or so "camellia women" rushed up from the lower deck, charging at them with thunderous roars.

"What a fine acupoint-striking technique."

Despite his perilous situation, Li Yu's eyes lit up, and he could not help praising it.

The girl darted over and said with a laugh, "Never mind how fine it was. Hurry and go!"

A veil covered her face, but she had not changed out of her emerald-green clothes. Anyone who was not blind could recognize her.

She pulled Li Yu over the railing, landing squarely on a bamboo raft. One push of her long pole against the ship sent them shooting away like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Who besides Abi possessed such skill at handling a boat?

Li Yu turned to look. Someone had cut down the great triangular sail at some point. The large ship was already less nimble than a small boat; now there was no need to worry about it catching up.

The deck was in chaos. Nanny Yan stamped her feet in fury, looking even more like a ball of flesh.

"Hahaha!"

Using the Returning Wind Brushes the Willow sword technique, he had won an exchange against a second-rate expert through cleverness, gaining tremendous benefits. Now he had also turned danger into safety and escaped unharmed. His spirits surging, he uncorked his yellow-skinned gourd and took a hearty swig. Sweetness balanced sourness, with a sweet aftertaste following the bitterness, and the nearly depleted internal strength in his dantian rapidly recovered.

He turned toward the girl in green, wariness lurking within his smile. "Miss Abi, are you trying to harm me or save me?"

The girl tossed down her pole and said indignantly, "You really have no conscience! Because I saved you, I won't dare visit Mantuo Manor for fun for the next six months."

"Then why did you trick me into boarding?"

"If I hadn't come, someone else would have invited you. Would anyone else have said those words to you?"

Li Yu's heart tightened. Precisely because of her warning, he had remained wary, keeping an eye on his escape route after entering that room. In the end, inspiration had blessed him, allowing him to gain half a move through cleverness. Otherwise, escaping a second-rate expert's staff would have been all but impossible.

He smiled. "If someone other than you had invited me, Miss Abi, I might not have accepted. In any case, thank you."

Abi picked up her pole and resumed propelling the raft, smiling prettily. "If you'd believed Nanny Yan's honeyed words and coveted wealth and glory, even I couldn't have saved you. As for you... hmm, you're not bad!"

"Why did she want to harm me?"

"You really don't know?"

Abi studied Li Yu with her lovely eyes wide open. Young and handsome, dashing and spirited-judging his looks alone, in all fairness, he fell only three or four tenths short of her young master, already surpassing the masses of men in this world. Women could easily take a liking to him at first sight, even willingly flying like moths into a flame...

Li Yu frowned. "I have no grudge against her. Before today, we'd never even met. She wanted to harm me just because I refused to become a guest retainer at Mantuo Manor? Isn't that far too overbearing?"

"She didn't want to harm you. She wanted to..."

"Wanted to what?" Li Yu had not caught it.

Abi's voice had been extremely low when she uttered the last two words, and she had spoken in the Wu dialect as well. Still, she was at the innocent, carefree age of fifteen or sixteen, and as a girl of the jianghu, she was not too constrained by propriety. After two light coughs, she continued.

"Who told you to practice your sword at the bow so early in the morning?"

"Nanny Yan is hideously ugly, yet she happens to like... handsome men. All these years, she's used recruiting guest retainers as a pretext to choose... servants beneath her skirts. Those who catch her fancy receive a plate of red camellias. Those who displease her in the slightest get chopped up for flower fertilizer. She's saddled my young master's aunt with quite a bad reputation..."

Feeling that much of what she had said was improper, Abi flushed slightly and refused to say more.

Enough!

Li Yu felt he had heard more than enough. He gazed at the ball of flesh still bouncing about aboard the ship, his expression frozen as though he had swallowed a fly, utterly revolted. Lowering his head to look at the three-foot blade at his waist, he suddenly found his motivation to train in martial arts increasing more than tenfold.

"The jianghu is too fucking treacherous!"

Thump!

The bamboo raft drew alongside the black-canopied fishing boat.

"Gang Leader, are you all right?"

Fu Rong asked anxiously, holding the Black Slaughter Saber. When trouble broke out aboard the ship, she had been about to urge their boat over to help, only to see two figures leap from the deck. Seeing Li Yu return on the bamboo raft, she felt somewhat reassured.

"It was all thanks to Miss Abi."

Li Yu still felt lingering fear. He had hoped to explore Langhuan Jade Cave, only to nearly tumble into an old tomb's ancient hole.

Fu Rong hurriedly cupped her hands. "Thank you for coming to our gang leader's rescue, Miss Abi."

"No need to thank me."

Once Li Yu had returned to the black-canopied boat, Abi flicked her pole and turned the bamboo raft northward. "There, I've made amends for my mistake and returned the jade intact to Zhao," she said with a smile.

Standing at the bow, Li Yu cupped his hands. "I still owe you my thanks, Miss Abi."

They had been complete strangers. Such kindness was truly rare.

Abi glanced back at the large ship and smiled. "Though my young master's aunt seldom concerns herself with things, that old hag still wouldn't dare mobilize Mantuo Manor's forces on a large scale for her own private ends. If she sends ordinary people after you, I imagine they won't be able to do much to you."

Hearing this, Li Yu nodded lightly and watched the bamboo raft cleave through the white waves, speeding north.

She had come riding the waves and left riding the waves.

The girl in green was like a sprite upon Lake Tai.

He turned to look again at the Camellia, which was about to raise its great sail, his eyes chilling slightly. What he lacked most now was time. Even an old serving woman from Mantuo Manor could drive him into a desperate corner.

"Let's go."

Guo Xiaosi worked the sculling oar with all his strength. Before the great sail could rise, the black-canopied fishing boat had also vanished across Lake Tai.

"Do we keep chasing?"

"Chase your mother's fucking head!"

At those words, veins bulged on Yan Ruhua's forehead. She jumped up and slapped the burly woman who had asked, sending her staggering. Staring across the lake, her expression shifted unpredictably before she turned and headed for her room.

"So alike..."

She unrolled the portrait and slowly turned it over, her gaze immediately becoming entranced.

On the reverse was a young man.

Two sides of one whole, heart answering heart.

"So very alike!"

*

*

*

At sunset, the three of them trod over fallen leaves and returned to the Fish-Dragon Gang's base hidden in the wooded hills.

"Miss Qin still hasn't returned?"

Inside Fish-Dragon Hall.

After hearing the gang members' report, Fu Rong turned to Li Yu. "I'll take some men to look for her right away."

"Her injuries have almost healed, and her martial arts are no worse than mine. She's more than capable of protecting herself. There's no need to look."

He added.

"A major battle is upon us. Have the brothers conserve their strength and sharpen their spirits. Don't let other matters distract them."

Seated in the tiger-skin armchair with his wine gourd in hand, Li Yu watched the lingering shadows fall before the steps and waved everyone away. Soon, he was alone in the hall. Taking a sip of wine, he looked up at the plaque overhead bearing the words "Fish and Dragon Transformation" and recalled their conversation in the plum grove on the way to the Li Family Winery that day.

"You could leave if you wanted, but couldn't you at least say goodbye?"

Carrying his tempered-steel sword, he stepped through the lingering sunlight, left the thatched hall, and began wielding his sword before the steps.

Streaks of cold light swayed with the wind like willow branches.

The willows of spring and summer were graceful and lively.

The willows of autumn and winter were bleak and cold.

Each had its own flavor. Returning Wind Brushes the Willow had never possessed only one form.

His sword moves grew more refined, simpler, and more lethal.

To temper the sword was to temper the heart.

"The Gang Leader's swordsmanship is peerless! We'll definitely crush the Black Flood Dragon Gang this time..."

"Of course! The day we reclaim Black Sand Wharf and restore the Fish-Dragon Gang is just around the corner!"

"Grow bigger and stronger, and forge new glory!"

Watching from all sides, the gang members all said their leader was displaying his exquisite swordsmanship to raise morale.

Fu Rong stood quietly beneath the covered walkway, holding the Black Slaughter Saber, a trace of envy flashing in her eyes.

The willow spoke of asking someone to stay.