Chapter 8

Translator: wuxiasociety

Lu Liding was concerned and said, “Where are you taking them?” as he leapt onto the roof. But it was pitch black; there wasn’t a trace of Wu Santong and the girls. Master Lu wanted to give chase, but Madam Wu shouted out, “There’s no need to chase them, he’s trying to do good.”

Lu jumped down back into the hall and quivering asked, “What good deed?”

Mistress Lu said, “Wu Santong is scared that the witch is going to harm the children, so he has delivered them to a safe place.” After he heard his wife say this he said, “Yes, it must be this.” But as he thought about how Wu Santong took the corpse of his brother and sister-in-law away, he started to worry.

Madam Wu said, “Ever since Ah Yuan got married, every little girl he looked at reminded him of his troubles. I predicted that he would come back to carry the girls away and try to protect them. The first time he came here and took Ru’er and Wen’er away, I caught him glancing at the girls a few times; his face had an affectionate look, with no evil intent. He’s pretending that they are Ah Yuan. Indeed he did come back for them. I hope this time he’s not going to do anything stupid.” She sighed twice, “You two better get some rest, we don’t know when the witch will come, there’s no need to wait anxiously.”

The Lu couple was extremely worried about their daughter and niece, but decided to rest a little. Their fear and hate for the enemy filled them as they waited for her in the main hall, the both of them carrying swords and concealed weapons. They did not rest anymore. The couple has been married for eighteen years; through that time, the everyday business of running the home had its fair share of problems. But now when they think about the enemy, and what Brother and Madam Wu said about the enemy’s strength, her cruel and vindictive ways; they knew time was running out and held each other.

After a long while, in the midst of the solitude, a soft song was heard from afar, seemingly a long distance away but the lyrics were crystal clear, “O mortals, what is love, that binds beyond life on earth, to all corners, in pairs we fly” .

Each word seems to be getting closer and closer, the person singing the song seems to be approaching extremely fast. By the beginning of the third line, the person had arrived at the door.

The three of them were startled, as suddenly a crashing sound was heard; the bolt on the main door had broken, the door flew in two different directions. An attractive priestess, with an evil smile gently stepped in; she was dressed in an apricot yellow gown. It was the Scarlet Serpent Deity Li Mochou.

Ah Gen at the time was cleaning the courtyard; he spoke first. “Who are you?”

Lu Liding quickly said, “Ah Gen… runaway!” Could he escape?

Li Mochou moved her hand in a sweeping motion; Ah Gen’s head was split open, dying without a sound. Lu Liding drew his sword. Li Mochou leaned to the side and brushed past him, and with another sweeping motion with her fly whisk, caused the two maids to die. She laughed evilly, “Where are your girls?”

The Lu couple had just seen three lives taken in the blink of an eye. They knew they would have no luck today; with swords in their hands they rushed to attack her from the left and right. Li Mochou was about to attack again when she saw Madam Wu at the side holding a sword and cackled, “So an outsider wants to interfere, fine, you can join the dead in this house today!” Her voice was soft and graceful, her form exuding a delicate air. She had a pair of bright eyes, her skin white, and was a real beauty. They didn’t see her leg movements as she floated to the rooftop. The Lu couple and Madam Wu leaped up to follow. Li Mochou swept her whisk and the weapons flew out of their hands. She gracefully said, “Master Lu, if your brother was still alive and told me he would divorce He Yuanjun, that slut, then I could have spared your whole family. But now, your luck is bad; you can’t blame me, blame your short lived brother.”

Lu Liding said, “Who asked you to spare us?” as he waved and chopped his knife blade at her. Madam Wu and mistress Lu both attacked from the front. Li Mochou saw Lu Liding’s skills were very average, but the way he used his knife, his kicks and palms, reminded her of her loved one. Her heart ached, and she wanted to see this type of kung fu as long as she could. If she killed him, the “Jiangnan Lu Family Blade” kung fu would be lost forever, so she flung her whisk without any real intent, and allowed her three enemies to circle her, her heart in a tangle, unable to use her normal array of ruthless moves. Suddenly Li Mochou gently whistled, she moved from the house, and headed towards the river bank, and to a lame old man holding an iron walking staff, and swept her fly whisk at him trying to wrap it around his staff. Before her legs had touched the ground, she had already unleashed an attack on her enemy. Unleashing it when he wasn’t prepared, her moves ruthless; she could teach the enemy how she could kill at all costs.

The old man heard the incoming attacks clearly; he lifted his staff across his body, getting ready to fight. He was aiming to pierce her right wrist. The iron staff is a heavy and clumsy weapon, only being able to sweep and smash. The old man is using a “piercing” type of kung fu, using the staff as a sword, and the moves he will unleash will be light and leisurely. Li Mochou waved her fly whisk, the silver threaded end up, wrapping it around the old man’s weapon. She shouted, “Let go!”

They struggled, borrowing strength to use strength, the fly whisk using the force in the iron staff to pull and drag the enemy towards it. The old man’s arms were shaking severely, and struggling to hold on, he jumped up, his body slanting in midair to escape, and managed to fend off a skilful stroke of hers. He thought, “This tyrant does live up to her name.” Li Mochou used the stance “Great Granddad Goes Fishing” (tai gong diao yu) followed by “Luring the Old Man” (yuan zhe shang diao) to snatch away the enemy’s weapon. Usually this is a great move and would guarantee success, but before she could snatch away the iron staff, the man had anticipated this move. She thought, “Who is this lame old man? Why has he the ability to last this long?” On closer inspection, she could see that he was blind and immediately called out, “You are Ke Zhen E!” The blind lame man was the head of the Jiangnan Seven Freaks “Flying Bat” Ke Zhen E.

After Guo Jing and Huang Rong had participated in the Hua Mountain martial arts tournament, Huang Yaoshi organized their wedding on Peach Blossom Island. Huang Yaoshi had always been eccentric and disliked company, so after a few months of living with his daughter and son-in-law, he left the island in search of a more peaceful place to reside and left a letter. Huang Rong knew her father’s temperament, but couldn’t think of a solution so she reluctantly did nothing. At first her father would send news every few months, but after a year, news of him disappeared. Huang Rong missed her father and her teacher Hong Qigong, so along with Guo Jing, they went out in search of them, wandering Jianghu for months, but something made them return to the island. Huang Rong had become pregnant during this time. Huang Rong’s body and health wasn’t like normal people and she didn’t have a moment’s peace. Since she was pregnant, traveling was not convenient, her mind was troubled, and she blamed her problems on Guo Jing.