But then she saw another creepier thing that she had never seen before. Madame Hei Ya was an immortal. Just cutting her head off, would not be able to make her die. Her body, with its only one hand, was slowly crawling approaching its head. Madame Hei Ya's eyes were staring and concentrating on its separated body. She's concentrating and ordering her body to get closer to her head to reconnect them again.
Ying was taken aback by what she was witnessing. Now she knew why an immortal's head had to be cut off, and its heart should be crushed into dust.
With her stomach still feeling painful, one hand holding her stomach, and one hand carrying a dagger, Ying walked toward Madame Hei Ya's body. And with a cynical smile, she stomped at Madame Hei Ya's head and said, "You're an evil woman! You want to kill me, just because I killed your bandit husband? Dream on!" And as she finished her last word, she kicked out the woman's head and made it roll away afar from its body.
"You… little devil!" Madame Hei Ya angrily cursed Ying. "I've never seen a little girl as cruel as you!"
"I'm cruel to those who do evil!" Ying snorted. "I didn't mean to kill you. You asked for it!"
Ying turned her head and saw that Madame Hei Ya's body was still crawling trying to find out its head. And without mercy, Ying cut off the body's left arm with her dagger. Madame Hei Ya screamed, as although her head and body were separated, she could feel the pain. She cursed Ying with the dirtiest word she could find.
Ying had never killed an immortal before. Her teachers only told her, that an immortal could only die, if the head was cut off, and the heart was crushed into dust. Now she had cut off the head, but how to crush the heart?
"I eviscerated animals before, I guess…it could be applied," Ying said in her mind. And with that, she used her dagger to pull out Madame Hei Ya's heart. Madame Hei Ya screamed with such a miserable voice that Ying ever heard in her entire life. The scream ended as Madame Hei Ya lost her consciousness.
It was the first time for Ying to kill an immortal. She slowly pulled out Madame Hei Ya's heart, and she could tell that the heart was not normal. The heart was pretty heavy, unlike a normal 'meat'. But…how could she crush it into dust? It's just a lump of meat!
As she was confused, a voice softly answered her question: "This is what you have to do!"
Ying turned her head and she was surprised when she saw it was Madame Ling. Madame Ling took the heart from Ying's hand and started to crush it with her hand. She used her internal energy to create heat on her hand, and in a sudden, her hand turned to red like flame, and the 'meat' was burnt into coal and what remained was a piece of a black stone. Madame Ling pressed the black stone harder, and the stone crushed to dust. As soon as the black stone became dust, Madame Hei Ya's body and head also dispersed into specks of dust.
Ying was delighted by what she saw. "Now I understand, why you said that when I cut off an immortal's head, I have to be quick and crush its head as soon as possible!" She said in an excited tone. Ying wiped her hands which were full of blood on her clothes.
Madame Ling knitted her eyebrows and looked at Ying with a disbelieving expression.
"Ying, and what did that woman do to you that you have to kill her?" a man asked. It was Mister Yao.
Ying laughed, "Master Yao, Madame Ling, how I'm so happy to see you again!"
Yet her two masters didn't seem happy. And Ying didn't know why they looked angry at her.
"Ying, what happened between you and Madame Hei Ya?" Mister Yao asked.
Ying narrated her story.
"That's…what happened!" Ying finished her story and laughed. "Madame Hei Ya indeed was a powerful woman. But, I won't give in. I would rather die a thousand times than give in to someone like her!"
Madame Ling shook her head as she realized how childish Ying was.
"Mister Yao, Madame Ling, you both had never told me before, that there are immortals who are bad! That woman…not only tolerated evil. She even wanted to make brushes from my hair!" Ying shivered as she imagined what would happen to her if she were the one who lost the duel.
"Do you think someone like her would give you a chance to die a thousand times? Once she manage to cut off your heart, she would crush your heart into dust and you will be finished forever!" Mister Yao scoffed.
"Hmm.." Ying wanted to say something but Mister Yao already interrupted and with a stern voice asked, "And why did you have to be so cruel and kill those villagers? Many of them have retired and didn't do any robbery again!"
"Should I let them go just because they're retired? They should responsible for their past deeds!" Ying answered, also in a stern tone.
Madame Ling pulled Ying's sleeve and said, "Little girl, watch your tone when talking to your teacher!"
Mister Yao sighed and asked, "Killing sixty-three people, and one immortal, …don't you think that you're a bit too much? If there are ten thousand men who committed a crime, are you going to kill them all too?"
Ying could not answer her teacher.
Mister Yao sighed and he observed the two branches dagger in Ying's hand. "So that's the sword and dagger that you forged!"
"Hmm!" Ying nodded.
"I met Xuanye two years ago. He told me, that Ou Yezi was very pleased with you. He said that you're a talented sword forger."
"Grandmaster Ou Yezi said that my skill could be compared to Xuanye!"
"But Xuanye had never forged such a cruel weapon before," Mister Yao said while examining the two branches dagger. He knew how dangerous the weapon was, and he could not understand, how a young girl who looked childish and sweet like Ying could come up with an idea of creating that kind of dagger.
"Because Xuanye had never experienced having a blade penetrated his intestine," said Ying in her mind. She could tell from Mister Yao's tone that he was not happy with her action. Yet she preferred to remain silent.
"If there are ten thousand men who committed a crime, how are you going to deal with them?" Mister Yao asked her again.
"If anyone commits any evil, then my sword will deal with them and won't let them go! Hmm…but ten thousand…"
"You are an immortal. You may live for hundreds or even thousands of years. The chance for you to encounter evil people are huge."
Ying said nothing. She could not imagine if she had to kill thousands of people. She still could hear the cry of the bandits that she killed. And the cry of Madame Hei Ya was the most miserable sound that she ever heard in her life.
"Ying, I guess, you should come with us!" Madame Ling said. "You, naughty girl! You still need to learn a lot of things! But you have to promise me that you will be a good disciple, and listen to your teachers!"
Ying nodded happily and laughed, "I promise I will be obedient!"
Mister Yao looked at her with a stern expression. He and his wife knew that this girl was a talented person. If she could not control her emotion, she would be a dangerous evil immortal. Therefore, they felt obliged to educate her.
=========================
Fan Li was right about Goujian. Goujian was a good friend in hard times, a man who can share woe but not wealth. A few years later, Wen Zhong was forced by Goujian to commit suicide.
Zheng Dan left the Yue State with her daughters. Her whereabouts were unknown. The Yue beauty who sacrificed her youth for the sake of her country was forgotten by many people. She was only a young woman who became a pawn in the hands of rulers and history makers such as Goujian, Fuchai, and Fan Li.
Only a few hundred years later, a historical account was written, and it mentioned Zheng Dan's name and contribution. And the one who recorded her name was Ying of Yue- the immortal beauty.