After chasing for a bit, she realised that this deserter was in fact Li Sheng, and quickly shouted after him: "Li Sheng, what are you doing?"
To her surprise, when Li Sheng turned around and saw that it was her, his expression was shadowed and unreadable, and his eyes darkened. He viciously dug his heels into the sides of his horse, spurring it into a full gallop.
Zhou Fei: "…"
Was she really that detestable?
While Zhou Fei's qinggong was not bad, it was only 'not bad', and two legs were ultimately no match for four – four legs that were much longer and stronger than hers at that. She tried her best to catch up with Li Sheng, but it became increasingly clear that doing so was impossible. She began to wonder if she should continue the chase, or return and inform Old Madam Wang.
Just as she was deciding what she should do, she suddenly heard a horse's panicked neighing in the distance, followed by the clang of metal striking metal. Zhou Fei's pupils dilated, and she quickly headed in the direction of the sounds.
She could vaguely make out Li Sheng shouting "Who's there!", but nothing else after that. When she finally reached the scene, all that was left was Li Sheng's horse stamping around aimlessly, and one of his daggers was on the ground. The boy himself was nowhere to be found, leaving few traces of a struggle on the surrounding trees and grass. Either his opponent was highly skilled, or had ambushed him, taking him unawares.
Zhou Fei was standing downwind. She suddenly heard some muffled sounds in the distance, carried over on the night breeze. Following her instincts, she ducked into a thicket of trees nearby.
A moment later, two masked men darted into the clearing, one of them grumbling: "I wanted the horse, not the boy! How much can a little brat like that be worth? Thankfully this horse hasn't run off yet, or else…"
The other man stood there in meek silence. Zhou Fei held her breath, thinking – Those robbers at the village had also wanted horses.
The two masked men departed soon after taking the horse, leaving Zhou Fei alone with her thoughts. If she went back now to tell Old Madam Wang, it would take too long, and these men would probably be far away by the time she came back with reinforcements. Having just recently witnessed the true power of the Snow-breaking Sabre, and not having met any foes that were really her match on the journey thus far, Zhou Fei was feeling pretty confident about her abilities. She decided to go after the men alone.
It is said that newborn calves do not fear tigers. While it is impossible to verify a calf's actual feelings, for Zhou Fei at least, fear was still foreign to her.
Zhou Fei had only just barely picked up fundamental martial arts survival skills, such as how to clean up a fight scene. She certainly was not adept at more advanced skills like tracking someone over a great distance. Her pursuit of the men was the work of a bungling amateur, and at quite a few points she was nearly found out, or thrown off. Zhou Fei was in unfamiliar territory, and had a mediocre sense of direction – after chasing them for some time, she realised that she had completely lost her bearings. But she wasn't too concerned, as she figured that she could always find her way back later. It was more important to catch up to them first.
Fortunately, those two masked men had probably assumed that as they were firmly in their own territory, they could afford to let their guard down. Everything seemed to be working in Zhou Fei's favour – the men were not moving quickly, the path was heavily forested, and they were advancing against the wind. Although it took quite some effort, she managed to tail them all the way through.
The two masked men started up a narrow mountain path that turned and twisted, making Zhou Fei feel even more lost than she already was. After walking for what seemed like forever through this maze of trees and rocks, she suddenly heard sounds of life. Lifting her head to take a look, she was astounded by what she saw.
Not far ahead was a massive stronghold, sitting astride this secluded mountain in the middle of nowhere. Guard posts could be seen all along its walls, lights flickering within.
The path before her ran between two mountains and snaked back and forth, making it difficult for her to see what lay ahead. She could make out the silhouette of a hanging rope bridge, with people flitting back and forth beneath flaming torches. No flags could be seen, and the stronghold was heavily guarded. The wind whistled from across the mountains, carrying over faint sounds of angry shouts and insults which Zhou Fei's sharp ears were able to pick up.
Zhou Fei was quite astonished. She had originally thought that these men were part of a grubby band of horse thieves, who had likely managed to drug or tie up the careless Li Sheng, and were no big deal. Would people who were a really big deal do things as petty as stealing horses? Why would they have their eye on a nobody like Li Sheng and his lousy horse?
Zhou Fei concluded that perhaps her understanding of the words 'a big deal' was incorrect.
While Li Sheng was an idiot, he was a well-mannered one, and would certainly stew silently instead of swearing loudly at his captors. This could only mean that besides him, there had to be many others also held captive here. These masked men had seized both men and horses, and built a towering prison deep in the mountains. What were they up to?
The more Zhou Fei thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Her hairs standing on end, she cautiously pondered her options, wondering if she should survey and familiarise herself with the surroundings first before making any moves.
Perhaps it was because fortune favours fools, but when Zhou Fei had made the foolish decision to pursue the masked men, she had been incredibly lucky throughout the entire journey. But when she finally started thinking…well, the heavens decided that it was high time for her to be punished.
Before she could settle on a course of action, the wind shifted its direction, wailing loudly through the mountains. The masked man, who was passing through the guard post, suddenly lost control of the horse. The horse neighed as it reared up on its hind legs, and made a break for it.
The other guards immediately hollered and gave chase, startling the horse further. Braying loudly, it charged away with all its might, stumbling right in the direction of Zhou Fei's hiding spot!
Zhou Fei: "…"
Since young, Zhou Fei had always been secretly fond of feeding little animals – good-looking birds that she saw in the mountains, the cats and dogs that the senior disciples kept as pets, and even the horses in Old Madam Wang's party, she had fed them all. She even had a leftover handful of beans in her pocket now. Li Sheng's dumb horse had probably caught her scent when the direction of the wind changed, and instinctively headed to a friendly person for help – bringing that friend down in the process.
Zhou Fei knew that she could not remain hidden for much longer, and thought: I might as well strike first and gain the upper hand.
Unfastening the long sabre at her waist, she leapt forward in a graceful arc above the horse's head. She unsheathed her weapon, executing three blows in midair. The person leading the chase for the horse bore the brunt of her surprise attack, and was forced to duck left and right – unsuccessfully. Letting out a hoarse cry, blood spurted from his chest and he fell to the ground, his fate unclear.
The others behind him were astonished, shouting: "Who's there!"
Zhou Fei didn't respond. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, and all the blood in her body rushed to those two hands clasping the sabre. She was the tensest she had ever been, almost to her breaking point, yet the intense pressure made her feel like she had broken through to a higher level of clarity, all her senses attuned razor-sharp to the fight at hand. The second man was before her in an instant. Instead of brandishing his weapon, he swept his leg out in a flying kick. Zhou Fei heard a loud whoosh. The thing hurtling towards her didn't seem like a human leg at all, but an incredibly hard iron rod. She leapt to the side, and looked down to see that that kick had left a shallow cavity in the ground.
Six men immediately surrounded her, all highly skilled. After exchanging just one round of blows, Zhou Fei already felt her wrists start to ache. She knew that if she continued on like this for much longer, either her knife would break or her wrists would. In her desperation, Zhou Fei wielded her blade better than she ever had, even managing to execute the third move of the Snow-breaking Sabre: 'Wind'.
This move was also called 'Irregular Wind'. It was so named as it seemed to possess the viciousness of the howling winter winds, sweeping wildly across barren tundra and battering everything in their wake. It undulated powerfully, and was most suitable for when one was up against many. While the technique was powerful and sophisticated, unfortunately Zhou Fei was only strong enough to unleash less than one-fifth of its full power. Yet this relatively paltry force was already enough for her to make a crack in this human wall surrounding her, before these men's astonished faces.
Just as she was about to make a run for it, Zhou Fei instinctively lifted her head, only to see that a row of crossbows were lined up along the guard posts high above, lying in wait for her. If she dared to take even another step outwards, she would immediately sport a whole new coat of arrows. In that instant, a thousand different options flashed through Zhou Fei's mind. Making her decision, she suddenly whistled loudly. At the sound, the horse that had been stampeding wildly turned back and ran straight towards her, bashing through the circle of men. Taking advantage of the chaos that ensued, Zhou Fei forced her way out, simultaneously flinging a handful of beans behind her and shouting: "Watch out!"
In the darkness, those men thought that she had flung out some kind of poison or weapon, and they dispersed in an attempt to take cover. Zhou Fei leapt onto the horse's back and grabbed the reins, pulling the dumb beast back from trying to sniff after the fallen beans. She dug her heels into the horse's belly. Instead of running away, she guided it straight towards the stronghold.
Guilt probably makes the wicked more nervous – it is perhaps for this reason that the stronghold was plunged into utter chaos by Zhou Fei's sudden forced entry, and frantic shouts echoed from all around. As her galloping horse passed a shadowed spot, Zhou Fei spied a narrow crack in the rocks. Eerily calm, the young girl leapt off the horse's back without hesitation while slapping its backside hard, causing it to bray loudly and charge forward like a rocket.
The horse's bray drew the attention of her pursuers, who all rushed madly after it. Zhou Fei quietly slipped into that little crack in the mountain rocks.
That crack was extremely narrow and incredibly deep, and only large enough for children and very slender young girls to squeeze into. Pressed against the rocks, Zhou Fei belatedly reflected on the hair-raising situation she had just been in, and let out a long breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. She didn't know how she had managed to make it this far.
Zhou Fei felt a slight breeze passing through the crack in the rocks. It could only mean that this wasn't a dead end. When she heard the sounds of the men getting further and further away, she started trying to venture further inwards. The space between the rocks started to get even narrower, and even Zhou Fei had to suck in her breath slightly to be able to squeeze through. As she shimmied inward, she pondered how she would go about finding Li Sheng. Lost in thought, her feet suddenly met with thin air.
She didn't even have time to shriek, falling downwards through the loose earth. This mountain was really heartless to her, literally – its very heart was hollow!
Zhou Fei hit the ground, loose soil and rocks falling all around her. Fortunately she had fast reflexes, using her sabre to break her fall. A little stone cave, of indeterminate human or natural origin, was actually hidden beneath this crack in the mountain. The light covering of soil that had accumulated over it was naturally not strong enough to support a human's weight.
Catching her breath, Zhou Fei felt like she was ready to throw her hands up in surrender. She didn't know which deity she had offended – she realised that each time she tried to be clever, she would certainly be punished for it within the next few minutes or so.
Her horoscope must have read that she should avoid using her brain today.
She had used her hands to cover her face when falling, and a layer of skin had been scraped off the back of her hands. It hurt. Zhou Fei sucked in a breath, licking her wounds as she cautiously felt her way around the pitch-black cave. This cave was not very big, and after going around the entire space and not finding anything untoward, she felt a little more at ease – it looked like this was not a manmade chamber, and was therefore safe for the time being.
It was probably dawn already outside, and dim shafts of morning light were beginning to filter into the little cave. It was not convenient to run around on enemy territory in broad daylight – so Zhou Fei had no other options but to wait. Finding a comfortable spot, she closed her eyes. Just when she felt like she had calmed down completely after her night of adventure, she heard the sound of a little rock hitting the floor, followed by a low whistle.
Even though Zhou Fei had been a blazing ball of courage thus far, she was almost scared out of her wits.
She leapt to her feet instantly, and whipped her head around – it was probably completely bright outside by now, such that she could begin to make out her surroundings in the dark cave. She saw a small hole in the rock that was about the size of her palm, and through it, a scruffy-looking man peering in her direction.
Zhou Fei: "…"
Lo and behold, she even had neighbours in this godforsaken place!
The next minute, she heard that man say exactly what she was thinking: "Lo and behold, I even have a neighbour in this godforsaken place. It must be my lucky day today – good things are bound to happen. How do you do, my beauty."
This fellow seemed like quite the lecher. Zhou Fei grasped her long sabre tightly, and wondered whether skewering him through the hole in the wall would alert the masked men.
"My beauty, you really have some guts," that man looked pointedly at a corner of the cave, "Look there, look there, see what is at your feet?"
Zhou Fei looked down, only to see a skeleton lying beside her. She hadn't noticed it in the darkness just now, and had sat shoulder-to-shoulder with it till dawn in blissful ignorance.
That man continued: "Now, I've been staring that brother over there in the eye for more than two months now. This man was probably an old geezer when he was alive, and isn't much to look at. Why don't you look at me instead."
Zhou Fei ignored his idle chatter, and got straight to the point: "More than two months? Were you imprisoned here for that long?"
"Precisely," the man sounded positively buoyant, as if being imprisoned were a great honour. "Quite a lot of people are locked up here too. Didn't you see when you came in? The sides of the mountain are filled with prison cells, and the heroes within spend their days yelling insults and curses at the people below. It's quite a sight. Unfortunately my cell is below ground. It's tranquil here, but I can't join in the excitement above."
Zhou Fei had landed in this cave completely by coincidence, and hadn't gotten a clear look at her surroundings at first.
She had never known that a prisoner could be in such a good mood. He also seemed vaguely familiar, almost friendly. Her desire to stab him waning, she asked: "Who is the boss here? Why did he lock you up? What is he planning?"
The prisoner stretched lazily. With an air of nonchalance, he said: "Last night I heard a great commotion down there, lots of shouting. It must have been for you then. Since you've already exchanged blows with them, can't you tell which sect they're from?"
Recalling that terrifying kick delivered by those iron-like legs, Zhou Fei blurted out: "Can it really be the Huo Clan?"
The prisoner didn't respond, only saying with excitement: "Look, there's a shaft of light at your left, why don't you walk towards it? I've been staring at a skeleton for ages, and am bored out of my mind. Now that a pretty girl has finally come along, quick, let me take a look at you. I need to refresh these sore eyes."
The words 'pretty little girl' immediately tugged at Zhou Fei's memory, and she realised in a flash why he seemed so familiar. Straining to see the man in the dim light of the cave, she scrutinised his features through the little hole in the wall. Still a little unsure, she asked: "You…is your name Xie…"
What was the name of that fellow who had come to deliver a message?
It had been three years, and she couldn't quite remember. Feeling tongue-tied, she hazarded: "..that 'No-luck' person"?
At her question, this strangely contented prisoner looked blankly at her for a moment. Looking her up and down, he finally exclaimed: "Ah! Don't tell me that you're that girl from the 48 Zhai? Called Zhou…"
"Zhou Fei."
Hearing her state her full name, that fellow who had been full of nonsense just seconds ago suddenly went quiet. Having shamelessly flirted with an old acquaintance, he was probably feeling pretty embarrassed right now.
The two of them stayed silent for a while. Then Zhou Fei saw her 'neighbour' shuffle backwards a little, clear his throat, and adjust his features into a more serious expression, before saying: "I was just joking with you then, my real name is Xie Yun – why are you here?"
Zhou Fei thought: that, my friend is a long story. Instead, she said briefly: "We left the mountain to settle some affairs, and these people seized my cousin."
Xie Yun said with amazement: "Why is it that every time I see you, you and that unlucky cousin of yours are always in some kind of trouble?"
Zhou Fei felt like saying in frustration – Because that bastard Li Sheng keeps seeking out trouble unnecessarily!
But one's dirty laundry should not be aired in public, so Zhou Fei simply imagined all the different ways she would beat Li Sheng up once she got ahold of him, and kept her mouth firmly shut.
Xie Yun said: "Don't worry, I've been here for more than two months, and it's quite alright, they give you food to eat and water to drink. Your cousin is probably fine for the time being."
Zhou Fei opened her mouth again to say something, but quickly shut it and darted into a dark corner of the cave when she heard a sound in the distance. At the same time, Xie Yun covered the hole in the wall with a rock, blocking his line of sight but still allowing sound to pass through. Zhou Fei heard something that sounded like metal clanging against rock. After a while, Xie Yun removed the rock and beckoned to Zhou Fei, saying: "It's alright, they just delivered my food – are you hungry?"
Zhou Fei had been up and about for the entire night, and was starving. Yet she felt a little embarrassed to be blatantly begging someone else for food, so she hesitated for a moment and then said: "Not too much."
Just as she finished speaking, the smell of food wafted wickedly through the little hole. Zhou Fei had had a difficult journey thus far, mostly sleeping in the open and only getting some proper food whenever they were able to stay in inns along the way. The smell of a piping hot meal caused her to swallow subconsciously, and her stomach growled.
But Xie Yun only said: "If you're not hungry then I'll just eat now, and if you're hungry…then I'll just cover this hole up and eat out of your sight."
Zhou Fei stroked the hilt of her sabre slowly, gritting out: "It's fine, go ahead."
Xie Yun really did 'go ahead', picking up a steamed bun and chewing several times. Then he picked up a small rock and covered the hole again, saying: "I still feel bad just eating in front of you like that, I think it's best if I cover this up. If I get the chance in future, I'll treat you to the best restaurants in Jinling. Ah, since the Southern Dynasty was established, half of the culinary delights in this world have shifted to Jinling."
Now Zhou Fei really didn't feel like talking to him.
Xie Yun continued: "I won't treat you to this meal today, it's been drugged."
Zhou Fei was shocked: "What?"
Xie Yun said slowly: "Have you ever heard of the poison called 'Wen Rou San'[1]? I'm sure you mustn't have, since it's an underhanded old thing used by crooked and unorthodox sects, and is used specifically to knock out horses – the heroes and experts of the martial arts world cannot be felled by any old drug, so a potent poison like this is needed. After eating a meal laced with it one will be unable to get up for most of the day, and of course there's no way one would be able to exert any internal or external strength."
Zhou Fei said with amazement, "Then why are you still eating it?"
"Because I am neither a camel nor a tortoise," Xie Yun gave a beleaguered sigh. "If I eat it, I won't be able to get up for most of the day, but if I don't eat, I'll never be able to get up again."
Zhou Fei thrust the hilt of her sabre through the hole in the wall, dislodging the little rock that Xie Yun had covered it with. She said to Xie Yun, who was scarfing down mouthful after mouthful of drug-laced food, "Young Master Xie…"
Xie Yun waved his hand, "Even though we barely know each other, we always seem to meet under the most dangerous of circumstances – making us practically comrades sworn to live or die together. Feel free to call me your big brother."
Xie Yun was a smoothtalker by default, and if the young lady next door had been someone else, he would likely have started another round of flirtations by now. But perhaps it was because the memory of Zhou Fei standing between him and her mother's wrath, broken knife in hand, was too deeply ingrained in him, that Xie Yun still saw her as that little girl from three years back. Smoothtalking a 'young lady' was socially acceptable, even considered good-natured flirting, but when faced with a 'little girl', he couldn't help but feel the need to be a little bit more serious…and even if he was only being just a little more serious, at least he sounded like a normal human being.
Zhou Fei asked: "When I asked you just now who the boss around here was, you dodged my question. Is it because there's something you can't say?"
Zhou Fei lifted a bowl of soup to his lips and drank slowly, pondering for a moment.
Anyone who had been sequestered in a cave for more than two months, even a deity, was bound to be more than a little dishevelled. Zhou Fei observed that while he spoke with insouciance, he had only eaten half of a small steamed bun and several paltry mouthfuls of food, certainly not befitting a grown man's appetite. He was probably only eating just enough to keep him alive. His cheeks were sunken in, his lips were cracked, and his face was scruffily bearded. But when he sat up straight (and refrained from talking), this person still looked inexplicably like a young nobleman – albeit a slightly sloppy-looking nobleman.
"It's not that." Xie Yun said softly. "It's just that I didn't know who you were just now, and there is too much involved in this for me to be speaking freely. I've heard that the previous Master of the 48 Zhai was a sworn brother of Old Master Huo Chang Feng of the Huo Clan. When you passed by Yueyang City, did you go and see him?"
Zhou Fei shook her head.
Xie Yun said, "This story began more than two months ago, when Old Master Huo invited his friends and relatives to attend his seventieth birthday celebrations. In his younger days, he was renowned for his unparalleled Huo Clan leg combat techniques, and was a fiercely loyal friend, magnanimous and kind by nature – he made a wide set of friends, and many people going through tough times came to him for help. So once the invitations went out, his friends and acquaintances all came in droves. You probably didn't know all this."
Zhou Fei certainly didn't.
Xie Yun continued: "I suppose they didn't dare to invite the 48 Zhai, because if Mistress Li really came, it would have been difficult for them to proceed with their plan. I tagged along to the event with a client of mine, and although I searched high and low, I didn't see a single person from the 48 Zhai. There wasn't even a single congratulatory gift from the 48 Zhai. That was when I knew that something was up. Unfortunately that foolish client of mine was rich in dollars but poor in sense, and refused to listen to me. I thought it wouldn't be good for me to just leave him there, so I ended up joining him in this dark prison."
Zhou Fei asked: "You saw Old Master Huo?"
"Indeed." Xie Yun paused, then said: "But he appeared to have lost his mind."
Zhou Fei exclaimed: "What?"
"He doesn't recognise anyone anymore, nor could he even remember his own name, saying that he was 'Chang Feng' one moment, and then 'Pi Feng' the next." Xie Yun sighed, "I heard that he fell very ill a few years back, and began deteriorating after that. Now, he needs to be accompanied at all times and speaks unintelligibly, like a baby. Looking at him, who used to be such a hero of his times, one can't help but feel bad…ever since Old Master Huo has become unfit to take on any responsibilities, his younger brother Huo Lian Tao has become the de facto boss of the Huo Clan. Eh, if you ever see Huo Lian Tao in future, please avoid him like the plague. His nose doesn't look like a nose and his eyes don't look like eyes…Mm, a shifty character if I ever did see one."
Zhou Fei: "…."
The criteria that Xie Yun used to judge people seemed a little problematic.
"Huo Lian Tao is an ambitious creature. He certainly didn't gather all those people together just to celebrate his loony brother's birthday. He wanted to gather them to form an alliance, consolidate power, and establish his own little fiefdom." Xie Yun explained, "They said that they wanted to form yet another so-called '48 Zhai'."
Zhou Fei was stunned: "Then they'd lock up anyone who didn't agree to join them?"
Were they insane?
Xie Yun shook his head, and said: "Although that sounds like what they might have been trying to do, it's not completely like that. To explain, I need to go back even further, to three years ago, when Gentleman Gan Tang left the Shu Mountains…"
At the sudden mention of her father's name, Zhou Fei immediately sat upright.
"He took over the network of power that Liang Shao had spent his entire life painstakingly cultivating, and single-handedly dealt with those restive idiots in the Southern Dynasty, forcing them to calm down and wait for a more opportune time to charge northwards and re-capture their territory. But with news of the false Emperor Cao Zhongkun's illness stirring up a flurry of activity across the Northern and Southern Dynasties like a drop of water in hot oil, things elsewhere became even more chaotic. All manner of heroes and bandits started to boldly declare their own little principalities and domains – some people would even simply plant a flag and pee at the foot of a mountain to claim it as theirs. With all these mutinous forces popping out of the woodwork, the false Emperor was able to send his forces in to eliminate them all at once, and nearly succeeded. Fortunately your father was just waiting for him to do so, and beat him at his own game – at the foot of the Zhongnan Mountains, he surrounded the false Emperor's troops and beheaded 'Alioth', one of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, hanging his head atop the city walls for three whole days, and dealing a massive blow to the Northern Dynasty."
Zhou Fei held her breath in anticipation.
"In that battle, the false Emperor's forces were greatly diminished, and the various major martial arts sects that were involved were also laid low. Being wary of martial arts sects rising up to rebel against the government in future, this was probably your father's intended outcome as well." Xie Yun continued, "After that, a large majority of the martial arts sects and clans dispersed like a pan of loose sand, and the instability and chaos subsided somewhat. But things that have been apart for long will start to come together again at some point. The people in the Dongting Region now mostly look to the Huo Clan for leadership. For quite some time, many of them have sought to form an alliance, to find safety in numbers. So the majority of the people that the Huo Clan invited were of the same mind as them. Only the minority were not aware of what they were getting themselves into, or had only decided to attend the celebrations out of respect."
Zhou Fei: "And that minority has all been locked up here?"
Xie Yun nodded: "Yes, but something so underhanded was not necessarily done by the Huo Clan. Why else would they still mask their faces while using the Huo Clan's leg techniques – isn't that like pulling down your pants to- you know? The majority of people in the Dongting Region have pledged allegiance to the Huo Clan, and this spans a whole range of characters, including…"
He paused for a while, and Zhou Fei blurted out the new term she had just learned from him: "Crooked and unorthodox sects."
"A few less than decent friends from the martial arts world," Xie Yun corrected her politely, "The Huo Clan kept trying to make us stay, trying to persuade us with reason and when that didn't work, move us with emotion. But unfortunately we were suckers for punishment and didn't relent. They eventually didn't force us to stay, seeing us out courteously, but we were ambushed not long after our departure, and promptly locked up here. As long as we agree to formally sign on to their alliance, they will let us out."
Recalling the man she had slain in that little village, doubts flashed across Zhou Fei's mind: Could such leg techniques be so easily copied? How was it possible for these men to conjure up such large 'ham legs' in a short span of time?
Then thinking a little harder, she recalled that she and Old Madam Wang had not actually seen those large 'ham legs' in action. But the more she thought the less she understood, and she felt like she could barely cope with what she had learnt about the martial arts world thus far, even though it was only the tip of the iceberg. She said: "Then I'd just pay lip service first, but it'll be another story once I get out."
Xie Yun laughed: "And then be accused of going against one's word? That won't do – once one gains such a reputation, one will never be able to go about in the martial arts world with head held high again. Anyway, it would be extremely embarrassing for one to fold so easily, after simply being held against one's will for no good reason."
Zhou Fei was still too young to understand that honour and pride were what heroes prized above all. But she was someone who preferred to 'seek common ground while reserving differences', and didn't feel like she had to fully understand another's point of view. She thought for a bit, then said: "Then let me think of a way to get all of you out of here."
Xie Yun gave her a look: "My dear young lady, listen to me. Go back and tell your elders to send a note to the Huo Clan, stating that the 48 Zhai has lost someone and requesting for their help to find him."
Zhou Fei furrowed her brow: "Didn't you just say that this large prison isn't the work of the Huo Clan?"
"Waters that are too clear have few fish,[2]" Xie Yun said lazily, leaning against a wall of his cell. "You little scoundrel, you don't even understand such basic principles, yet you wanted me to tell you all about what's happening here?"
Zhou Fei had been swiftly demoted from 'beauty' to 'little scoundrel' in a matter of minutes. Although this was the first time that she had ever left home, and she was extremely unfamiliar with the ways of the world, she was quick to catch on to things. She immediately understood what Xie Yun meant – the Huo Clan had deliberately closed one eye to the activities of these 'crooked and unorthodox sects', with perhaps some members of the Huo Clan even joining in. And these unorthodox sects also had another use – if anything were to go wrong, the Huo Clan could easily distance themselves from the affair and blame it all on these 'less than decent' friends!
What kind of bullshit was that?
[1] 温柔散Literal translation: Dispersing/Spreading Gently
[2] A Chinese idiom that means that one cannot expect everyone to be squeaky clean, or have such high standards of others, else one will not have any friends.