What the Tang Sect Fan Was For

The Dragon Duke stood in the middle of the clearing. The thirty-two Soul Breaking Knives had been divided into two sets of sixteen and neatly arranged on the grass before the two contestants.

Twenty meters ahead stood an ancient tree so thick it took several people to encircle its trunk, its crown full of yellow leaves. The night breeze rustled through them.

"Ready?" The Dragon Duke swept his gaze over the two.

Meng Yiran stared intently at the canopy, her right hand already resting on the first Soul Breaking Knife. Her fingers tightened slightly, her knuckles turning white. She had practiced throwing knives since childhood, and using thirty-two Soul Breaking Knives was her greatest specialty. She couldn't afford to lose this contest.

Tang San nodded, but his eyes weren't on the tree. His gaze passed over the canopy and settled on the broken branches and shredded leaves the Titan Giant Ape had left deeper in the forest.

Xiao Wu and Wang Xingyu were still in the Titan Giant Ape's hands. He had no time to waste here. Finish this quickly. Get moving.

The Dragon Duke raised his right hand, sending a burst of Soul Power into the trunk. The whole ancient tree shuddered, and yellow leaves came fluttering down, whirling through the air like a sudden golden blizzard.

Purple Demon Eye, activate. A faint purple light shone in Tang San's pupils, and the leaves filling the sky abruptly slowed in his vision. The path of every falling leaf was as clear as if it had been drawn on paper.

Both his hands darted out at once, his ten fingers flying. He flung the sixteen Soul Breaking Knives planted in the grass one after another, his movements so fast they were almost impossible to see.

Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers, the pinnacle of the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons techniques. The sixteen throwing knives traced sixteen different arcs through the air, each passing precisely through layer upon layer of falling leaves.

Meng Yiran had only just thrown her third Soul Breaking Knife when the whistling of blades beside her ears stopped.

She turned her head instinctively and saw that the grass before Tang San was empty. Not one of the sixteen throwing knives remained. She froze for an instant, then turned to look at the ancient tree.

The leaves were still drifting down, but every throwing knife was already embedded in the trunk, its tip driven deep into the bark. Four or five yellow leaves were threaded onto each blade, stacked neatly like meat on a skewer.

Of the three she had thrown, each had pierced only a single leaf.

The Dragon Duke and Snake Granny stared at the sixteen throwing knives in shock. After a long silence, the Dragon Duke slowly nodded. "Excellent technique."

Tang San didn't look at the knives. He turned and cupped his fists at the Dragon Duke. "Thank you for going easy on me. And thank you, all three of you, for the Man Faced Demon Spider." With that, he turned and started to leave.

"Wait!" Meng Yiran's voice called after him. Tang San stopped, but before he could turn around, she had rushed up behind him and reached out to turn him by the shoulder. "A bet's a bet. I accept my loss!"

Suddenly, a figure jumped down from a tree and landed steadily between them.

A fan snapped open, positioning itself squarely between Meng Yiran's lips and Tang San's cheek.

The words "Tang Sect" on its surface faced Meng Yiran, the ink gleaming faintly in the moonlight as though it had yet to dry.

Wang Xingyu held the fan in one hand and straightened his collar, which a branch had snagged askew, with the other. He took a deep breath. "I almost didn't make it." He turned his head to look at Meng Yiran's face, just inches away.

Hah, this is exactly why I brought a fan.

Meng Yiran's lips were only a finger's width from the fan, and she couldn't stop her forward momentum. Her entire body went rigid as though she had been struck by an immobilization spell-her soft lips had landed squarely on the words "Tang Sect" in the center of the fan, and she immediately felt the cool paper against them.

Her brain had yet to process the question of where this person had come from when her cheeks flared red. She hurriedly took half a step back, pressing her lips together instinctively, the tips of her ears so red they looked ready to bleed.

"Sorry, I turned you down for Little San." Wang Xingyu drew the fan back half an inch. "But kissing a Tang Sect fan works too. We'll count that as you honoring the bet."

"Xingyu, you're all right! That's wonderful!" Once Tang San recovered, he grabbed Wang Xingyu's arm with both hands. His knuckles turned white from the force of his grip, and even his fingertips trembled slightly.

He looked Wang Xingyu up and down, not even overlooking the branch marks on his collar. Only after confirming that he didn't have a single wound did the weight hanging over his heart ease by half.

Everyone crowded around. Zhao Wuji laughed heartily and patted Wang Xingyu on the shoulder. "Hahaha, I'm glad you're all right, glad you're all right."

Ma Hongjun's eyes went round. "Wang Xingyu, you're not dead? How did you come down from the tree?"

"I was lucky. The Blue Silver Grass broke on the way." Wang Xingyu closed his fan and turned to the crowd, his tone easy. "But I reckon Xiao Wu is all right too. I heard a bull bellow when I fell."

"A bull bellow?" Ma Hongjun looked bewildered. "What does that have to do with it?"

Wang Xingyu didn't answer immediately. His fan rapped Ma Hongjun on the head with a smack. "That's for stirring things up, you brat. What was that about leaving an arm and getting a kiss?" He gave Oscar a rap as well.

Oscar held his head, a hint of indignation in his peach-blossom eyes. "We were helping Little San get a benefit!"

"Benefit, my ass." Wang Xingyu opened his fan and waved it. "All right, Little San, don't worry too much."

"So what was that bull bellow you mentioned?" Ma Hongjun was still more interested in the earlier topic.

"The Sky Azure Bull Python."

Everyone looked at one another. Ma Hongjun scratched his head. "What's that?"

"The true overlord of this forest." Wang Xingyu closed his fan. "It's even stronger than the Titan Giant Ape."

Dai Mubai frowned slightly. "Stronger than the Titan Giant Ape?"

"Yes." Wang Xingyu nodded. "The Titan Giant Ape is the king of the forest. The Sky Azure Bull Python is its emperor. One is a king, the other an emperor."

A murmur of astonishment went through the group. Ma Hongjun's mouth fell wide open. "We've been in this forest for so long. If we'd run into that thing-"

"If you had, you wouldn't be standing here asking me about it." Wang Xingyu glanced at him. Ma Hongjun immediately shut up.

Tang San took no part in the others' exclamations. His gaze rested on Wang Xingyu, his brow slightly furrowed. "Then why is Xiao Wu all right? Did the Sky Azure Bull Python happen to show up when the Titan Giant Ape grabbed her?"

Wang Xingyu was just about to make something up when the bushes beside them suddenly rustled.

"I'm fine, Third Brother."

Xiao Wu emerged from the bushes, a few leaves still caught in her scorpion braid. Branches had torn several holes in her clothes, but her face was clean.

Tang San froze for a moment, then strode over and grabbed her shoulders. Just as he had with Wang Xingyu, he checked Xiao Wu over.

Then he let out a long breath, the great stone weighing on his heart finally falling to the ground. "I'm glad you're all right."

The Shrek group rushed over in a crowd. Ning Rongrong took Xiao Wu's hand, while Zhu Zhuqing stood beside them. Though she said nothing, her gaze lingered on Xiao Wu for quite a while.

Oscar pulled out a sausage and offered it to her. "Xiao Wu, are you hungry? I've still got one." Xiao Wu took it and had a bite, mumbling her thanks through a mouthful.

Ma Hongjun poked his head out from the crowd. "Xiao Wu, what happened to you? Did you hear a bull bellow?"

Xiao Wu paused mid-bite and turned to look at Ma Hongjun. "How did you know?"

"He said so." Ma Hongjun pointed at Wang Xingyu.

Xiao Wu gave Wang Xingyu a curious glance, her eyes showing a mix of surprise and suspicion. Did Da Ming really bellow?

Wang Xingyu waved his fan without a change in expression.