Jiangbei, the beginning of the second month of Kengyin Year.
A vast expanse of snow was like a sea of pure white frozen land. The wind blew cold and sharp, hitting the hills and valleys with its strength. Small animals were hiding, big animals fell asleep in their comfortable nests. There was only endless white in that mountain range, no fresh green was visible, no blue in the sky. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, leaving only its remaining faint light.
It was the period of the Song Dynasty in China, hundreds of years ago. The battles against the foreign tribes were far from the end, no one could see a peaceful era in the near future.
The thin fog fell slowly, nearly blinding eyesight in the freezing cold. There was a small stone hut among the expanse of snow, one abandoned by the villagers a long time ago. The snow filled up the footpath to the entrance, and the roof was also covered by a soft white blanket.
Two black horses rode by a couple of young man and woman was racing to that small hut. Those two young people were severely injured. They had gone a long way to get to this place, but it seemed that they still have a long way to go. They came to the small stone hut to temporarily hide themselves and escape the cold.
The young man was only around twenty, he was a handsome one although he looked really pale now, dirt and scar can be seen on his once a smooth face, and he tried really hard to hold his physical pain. The blood on his face was dried, but the bruised on his cheek was blue still. His clothes were torn, it was really clear he had been severely injured by some kind of sharp weapon several times.
The young woman looked really tired as well. She was just a teenager, wasn't an adult nor a young girl. She was supposed to be a beautiful girl, but this beautiful girl was just as pale as her spouse, dirty scars were there on her face as well. She was wounded, and her clothes and hair were messy. The coat on her shoulder was the young man's, it was torn a bit but she needed it to keep her warm.
The horses stopped before they reached the stone hut. The young man jumped down and pulled the horse. He could not sit on the horse any longer, but he knew he could not give up before reaching a safe place. The young woman followed his step, they walked slowly to the hut.
"What is it?" the young woman asked.
The young man pointed at the hut. "Look," he said, trying to overcome the growling sound of the wind. "I'm not sure this place is safe enough for us."
"Mr. Zhou's people?" asked the young woman.
They could see some smoke coming from the stone hut, smoke from a fireplace. There must be someone inside the hut, and the young man and woman could not tell if it was friends or foes.
"There's no way they wait for us here," said the young man.
The young woman sighed. She thought if they don't rest well tonight, she could not go any longer. "Our horses are tired," she said, "we cannot make them run any further. I don't think we have any choice. Luo Dage (Brother Luo), there are no villagers around this place, what should we do then?"
"We hide the horses back then. There's no other way, we have to get some rest before we can leave this mountain."
They had not reached the stone hut when some boisterous sound was heard among the blowing wind, which approached them quickly like some sand storm. The neighing horses and the yelling of the riders came one after another followed by the clinks of weapons. A knife flew, and nearly slashing the young man's shoulder.
The two young man and woman looked back. They didn't expect the enemy to come so fast, and they knew they could not escape anymore. Their horses were tired, unable to take them leaving the snowy land. The wounds on the young man's body were bleeding again. There was no way out, they could only hold hands and wait for the enemy.
"Dage…."
"Take it easy," the young man forced a smile. "We weren't born on the same day, but we can die on the same date, I have no regret."
The young woman forced smile as well. "Me too."
The sound of horses neighing and people yelling came closer, the peaceful land changed drastically. The two young people waited calmly.
"Xing-mei, are you afraid?" the young man asked
"You are not afraid, I'm not afraid," answered the young woman.
The young man took the knife almost hurt his shoulder, and handed it over to the young woman. "I think we can kill one or two of these useless beings before they kill us," he said.
"How about you?" asked the young woman.
"I still have my sword, you don't have to worry."
"But that sword is…."
Six people came closer. Each of them was a big tall man who looked like some soldier guarding the border area. They wore grey clothes, looked like some uniforms, they rode dashing horses and they had shinny sabers as weapons. They surrounded the two preys tightly just like some hunters cornered two young deer. They pointed their weapons, ready to fight.
"Attack!"
One of those six men yelled, looked like he was the leader. His five followers jumped from their horses, and attacked the two preys ferociously. It was never a fair fight happening there as the six-strong men wanted to kill their preys just like some hungry predators. It was just a matter of time before the young man and woman had their energy drained and lives taken.
The sword on the young man's hand was fractured, while the knife on the young woman's hand was also useless. They stood back-to-back to protect each other, only in some chances the young man will roll his own body to protect the young woman. It only took a while to add several injuries to their bodies. Their blood dropped on the white snow, coloring it.
"Don't kill them just yet!" the leader of the six men gave orders in his loud shrilly voice. "We cannot spare their lives, but we cannot let them die so easy."
"You all Wansui Gu (Long Live Valley) people only know how to kill!" the young woman yelled loudly while stabbing her knife to one of the attackers. "I have my regret having that Zhou Sangong as my teacher."
Her hand was trembling, her knife was missed. A saber stabbed her back and she fell down hard. The men laughed at her.
"You are an ungrateful bitch. Our master took you in and raised you as his daughter for years. But you betrayed him and became Wansui Gu's traitor."
The leader yelled louder, angrier than her. His saber stroked, forcing the young man to use the remaining half of his sword to hold it before reaching the young woman. The half-sword cracked again and left only its handle. The young man kneeled down, and almost fell to the ground.
"We have no more weapons to fight you, people," the young man said while throwing away his sword handle. He knew he had no more chance, and desperately tried to snatch a saber from his enemy. But he was already injured really badly, and he had no enough energy left. One man kicked his tummy easily, and he fell down to the ground, vomiting red blood miserably.
"Luo Dage!" the young woman called distraughtly.
Somewhere near the fighting scene, a pair of small feet stepped out of the stone hut, and slowly sneaked out to see the fight from behind the fence, interested to know what happened. Those two young man and woman were already badly injured, they only have a small knife, and they looked tired already. Their enemies were six healthy men using well-forged sabers. If no one helped those two young people, they will definitely die in a whole lot of pain.
The small feet belonged to a young girl, she was just thirteen or fourteen years old. She was wearing shabby silky clothes and an old jacket; her flowery shoes were torn. She looked like a little beggar girl. However, this young one had a pair of bright eyes, her face was pure beauty. Her outwears could not cover her as a girl from a rich family, far away from her home, and wandered in disguises.
She was a girl coming from a wealthy family. Her father was known as Tiemu Baojian (Wood and Iron Sword), named Xu Chenghai, and was the owner of Huofeng Lou (Fire and Wind Tower), a building located in the small city of Fulong, Jiuhua Mountain, Anhui Province.
Huofeng Lou was a restaurant, a hotel, and a famous center of information in the martial world. It was also a gathering place for people from all over the place, from all generations. Fulong City was a small desolated place, but the name Huofeng Lou was well known. Its desolated location somehow attracted people to visit, and enjoyed the Mountain Jiuhua scenery while gathering up, and had chatted with some old friends and acquaintances.
In the last two decades, Xu Chenghai was quite a notable person of the martial world, he was well respected by the leaders of white parties, and feared by the evildoers and the followers of the demonic sects.
The young girl Xu Qiao was Xu Chenghai's fifth daughter. She and her four sisters were trained in martial arts since they were toddlers, and they had good abilities. Their father demanded them to have a great reputation in the future, and gave everything to make sure they were educated properly.
Xu Qiao was the youngest, and smartest, but she was also the stubborn one. Her four big sisters loved her, and spoiled her more than their parents did, but this little girl didn't like to stay at home obediently. She left her home half-year earlier after quarreling with her father.
She didn't know that leaving home was the beginning of a long adventure, she would meet people who changed her princess-like life into a completely different world she never thought about.
There on the fighting field, the knife on the young woman's hand had been taken back by its owner. The two young man and woman were laying on the ground, waiting for their death. The six men, however, had no intention to take their lives easily. The young man smiled at his girl.
"Xing-mei, we will be united in hell," he said in despair, "no one will take us part."
"I told you," replied the girl, "I'll be with you live or die."
One of the six men came closer and point his saber to the young man's face, leaving another scar there.
"You two will be dead in a minute, what are you still talking about?" he yelled. "Luo Tieyun, Nan Xinglie, I can spare your life if you tell me where the script is."
Xu Qiao was peeking close enough she could hear them talking clearly. She rolled her bright eyes. It wasn't the first time she heard someone in the martial world looking for a script, a treasure worth fighting for. The people of Wansui Gu rarely stepped out of their valley, but now they were here for a reason.
She heard about Wansui Gu and its people several times, mentioned by her father and his martial world friends. Wansui Gu was known as a remote valley full of evil poison masters, at least that was what she learned since she was just a young girl with limited experience. She never wished to run into any of these poison masters, of course, since the world of medication and poison wasn't the world of her Xu Family.
"What script?" asked the young man. "You can tell your master, the script is in hell. If he wants it, he can come with us there to take it."
"The second daughter of our master are sick, we need the script you stole to cure her, why don't you just return it?" asked another man.
"I don't think you need the script to help someone," said the young woman, "you'll use it to hurt people."
"Xiaoshimei (little sister) is fine," her lover continued, "I believe you're just making something up."
The leader of the six men could not wait any longer, he asked his men to search the script in the young man and woman's bodies.
Xu Qiao didn't want to make her presence known, actually. Interfering in other people's business wasn't in her character, additionally, she didn't really know what the real problem with those people was, she couldn't tell who was right and who wasn't. But seeing a bunch of rough men gang up on two dying people made her cannot help but do help.
She pinched a handful of snow and threw it at the leader of the six men, the bald one, and the snow hit the man right on his head. This young girl was really agile, she threw some other snowballs in a row, and hit the men. It was fun for the little girl to see the men get hit on their head almost at the same time without a chance to deflect or dodge, she smirked happily.
The six men hadn't realized who threw snowballs at them when Xu Qiao stepped out from her hiding spot, and came closer with unhurried steps, playing with another snowball in her hand. Those six armed men wiped the snow from their faces, they looked so angry and embarrassed knowing the one throwing the snowballs was a harmless young girl.
"You're a little rascal."
"What a devil."
One of them approached the bald man. This man's face was stiff and cruel, he hated children so much. A young girl teasing him made him angry the most.
"Laoda (older brother), I'll kill this young girl."
The bald man raised his hand. "You don't have to kill her," he said in a calm yet terrifying voice, his eyes turned scary. "Just break her arms, cut her tongue, then return here to her parents to tell them that they didn't educate their child properly."
"That will be perfect."
The cruel one liked it so much to hear his order. Xu Qiao smiled calmly still, she stood in her place, not making any sign to defend herself. She looked down, and raised her left hand, her feet crossed in a certain style known by the bald man. He heard about the Anhui Province's Xu Family.
"Xiaoyan puyi (small sparrow wings) style," he said, "you are Miss Xu from Huofeng Lou."
"I am," the young girl replied without looking at him.
"Where's your father?" the man asked again.
"You people are just some rats, you have no right to see my father."
The bald man wasn't offended. "Which Miss Xu are you?" he asked again.
"I don't care if she is the first or the fifth," said his cruel friend. "I'll cut you into nine pieces before I send you back to your parents."
The cruel face man attacked in rush, his saber slashed toward the little girl perilously. Xu Qiao had no intention to use all her abilities just yet, she wanted to know the techniques used by her opponent first. She was just a young girl after all, but the bald leader man knew she wasn't just any girl. He knew he couldn't underestimate this young girl.
Xu Qiao's father, Xu Chenghai, was known for using his technique called shijie jian fa (sword of the universe). His five daughters each mastered different styles, and their father's reputation gave opportunities for these five girls to learn from some reputable skilled martial figures. Xu Qiao was no different. She'd learned some skills from different parties since she was really young, and she was able to recognize the characteristics of some clans and sects, including Wansui Gu. She wouldn't get herself into trouble if it was just dealing with some juniors.
She used no weapon, her main advantage the agility she had, knowing that her enemy used mostly physical strength. She wasn't ever fought a real opponent, so it couldn't be said she was inexperienced. The cruel man was a bit inconvenienced after dozens of strokes and he couldn't even touch the tip of the girl's cloth.
The bald man could see his friend's condition, he quickly gave a sign to the others. Four men surround Xu Qiao in a circle, attacked her continuously, and gave her no chance to take a breath. The bald man didn't step in, he turned to his two young preys.
"Your girl will die soon," he said to the young man. "Luo Tieyun, you better hand over the script to me while you still can. My friends will catch your rescuer girl in a minute, and I will not spare your life again by then."
"You asked your men, five men against a young lady, that's really low, people will laugh at you," said the young woman to the bald man. "Wansui Gu people are nothing but bullies."
The bald man laughed simultaneously.
"A young lady from the righteous party Huofeng Lou is helping two thieves," he said harshly, "people will laugh at her more."
Xu Qiao could hear the bald man talking, distracted her for two seconds. Unfortunately, she was using her mudan miao wu (botan flower dancing) at the time and she'd not yet mastered this style. They style was broken easily and one of her opponent's saber slashed her arm, surprising everyone.
Nan Xinglie saw that and almost stood up to help her. But she was really weak and couldn't move a muscle. Luo TieYunheld her hand, while the bald man already jumped into the fighting scene, and asked his man to step aside.
His five men moved aside before he asked twice. The bald man threw his saber into the snow, then attacked Xu Xiao using no weapon. He was still dangerous without his weapon, his fist looked deadly, directly aimed at the young girl.
Xu Qiao was alerted already, she jumped to her side to avoid the fist, using her agility to save herself. She maintained a good balance, and jumped several times nimbly, while the bald man chased her all the way. The fist was really dangerous, it would bring instant death to a young child. Xu Qiao realized that and she knew she couldn't take it directly. She also knew the people from Wansui Gu like to use poisons, and the poison would be more deadly than the fist.
The bald man was also familiar with Huofeng Lou's reputation. Xu Chenghai's daughter definitely knew Wansui Gu's real fighting skills. He changed his style, and started to use some weird movements, which Xu Qiao found out really soon.
"Old bald, what are you using now?" she asked.
"Xiaoguniang," Luo Tieyun yelled while still helplessly laying on the ground. "Be careful, he's using minglou wu ying (clear dew with no shadow), and it's just some dirty tricks."
It was too late for Xu Qiao to find out the bald man's trick, as the bald man forced her to clash hands already. Xu Qiao felt the horrible pain on her arm. The bald man stepped back two steps while Xu Qiao was thrown to the ground. She could stand on her two feet, still, but she felt really dizzy and her body trembling.
The bald man laughed at her. He stepped forward and his ugly face looked like a hunter had just managed to catch precious prey.
"Xiaoguniang, look at your right palm," he said to the girl, "do you find a small green dot there?"
Xu Qiao vaguely looked at her tingling palm. She found a little green dot there as the bald man said.
"What is this?" she asked the bald man.
"I poisoned you," said the bald man again, enjoying the girl's reaction. "We call this poison as zixie du (purple scorpion), one of our best creations. You will feel nothing for the next ten days, but you will see broken veins on the eleventh day, one after another. You can be considered lucky if it doesn't kill you, but you will be paralyzed for sure, for the rest of your life."
Xu Qiao shook her head to overcome the pain. She didn't want to be afraid, but she was scared anyway. Her father had warned her to stay away from the people from Wansui Gu, avoiding their dangerous poison. Xu Qiao hated poison, but someone threatened her with one now.
"You have the antidote, right?" she asked the bald man.
"I have no antidote in my hands," the bald man said happily, "we have all the medication kept in Wansui Gu, you may consider taking it there."
"Diedie (father), I'm here!" Xu Qiao suddenly called while waving her hand passing the bald man and his friends. "Shifu, Shishu, you are here too. Great, you can help me fight these people from Wansui Gu."