The bodies of Hailang Biaoju's servants were buried together. All these servants had no family, no hometown, and could only depend on the Huang Family for their lives. When Huang Weiqun and their bodyguards fled to avoid people demanding explanation regarding Zhang Zheliang's treasure, they had no other choice but to stay at the Huang Family residence and wait for their master to return.
The servants Xiaohu and Lao Li arrived there when the bodies were buried, Xiaoshan also came with them.
"Ershaoye, since half a month ago it was rumored that the leader of Hailang Biaoju had received the wooden chest of Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang, after that a number of outsiders came to Luoyang," Xiaoshan told Huang Yu. "Some were secretly trying to get information from the townspeople, some were coming to Hailang Biaoju headquarters and trying to meet laoye." She called Huang Yu's father laoye means old master.
"Did you get their identities?" Huang Yu asked.
"It wasn't clear, mostly just members of small parties and they hid their identities well," Lao Li was the one to answer his question. "A group introduced themselves as followers of Wansui Gu, another group said they were from Jianyin Bang."
"My father asked you to take my brother away, also asked Zhen Naima to take my sister away, then did father and mother leave too?" asked Huang Yu. "Did they tell you where are they going?"
"Laoye asked all his bodyguards to return to their hometowns, telling them all not to come back here for a while," Lao Li also said, "Laoye himself, and Furen, they also seem to be going far away, but they didn't tell us where to go."
Huang Yu nodded once. He could not tell where his parents went but he did not feel the need to worry about them. Hailang Biaoju's leader and his wife were not ordinary figures, they were very experienced in the martial world and did know when to face an opponent and when to avoid an enemy.
"What kind of item entrusted to my father?" he asked Lao Li again. "And who gave it to him?"
"I really don't know," Lao Li replied. "I only remembered the man came late at night, he met laoye only and no one else, handed over to him the wooden chest and then left. Laoye received the wooden chest from him, called the bodyguards, and left that night. He just returned two days after and asked us all to leave Hailang Biaoju headquarters."
According to Huang Zhe's explanation, two disciples of Huofeng Lou escorted Huang Weiqun to return to Luoyang. Huang Yu was sure his father had already given the wooden chest to Xu Chenghai, and the thing that happened in Hailang Biaoju most likely will happen in Huofeng Lou as well.
"I had asked some of the townspeople, they said yesterday there were a number of strangers under disguise, coming here looking for laoye. But since laoye had left they killed the servants," said Xiaoshan, "a few hours later another group of people came, all they found were corpses and then set this place on fire in anger."
"Huofeng Lou," Huang Yu mentioned the name again. "My father received a wooden chest said to be Zhang Zheliang's inheritance from a friend to be handed over to the owner of Huofeng Lou. Jinshui, if this matter were heard by people who wanted the inheritance, they would definitely go to Anhui to ask the owner of Huofeng Lou directly."
"Qiao-er," Jinshui whispered slowly. "Xu Family could be in trouble."
"Xiaohu, Xiaoshan, Lao Li, you three should stay here in Luoyang waiting for my parents, try to find out what actually happened," Huang Yu talked to the three servants. "I and Jinshui will go to Anhui and meet the owner of Huofeng Lou."
They parted there. Huang Yu and Jinshui both immediately left Luoyang, galloping their horses towards Huofeng Lou. But because of Jinshui's condition that can't be exposed to the heat of the sun, they travel more after sunset and rest when the day started to get bright.
Since Jinshui was worried about Xu Qiao, he often forced himself to keep riding the horse when his skin began to feel the painful poison reaction. He wore thick clothes to cover his entire body, even his face, but even the cloth of clothing could not protect against the special poison created in Wansui Gu.
Huang Yu knew the condition of his friend, he kept reminding him to stop the journey and hide when the sun began to warm up. He also continued to help Jinshui control the poison using inner energy.
They could not travel any faster. Other than Jinshui having to avoid light during the day, his condition was still weak due to the poisons in his body. No matter how much he tried to reduce his rest time, he still had to spend a few hours each day dealing with the effects of the poison. Huang Yu calmed him down many times, assuring him that Huofeng Lou would be fine.
They finally reached Fulong Town, Jiuhua Shan, Anhui Province. Huofeng Lou located at the edge of the town was a two-story building overlooking a wide valley, surrounded by a complex of other buildings that form a large complex. It was a beautiful residence, well arranged, and once had its own charm for anyone to visit and spend time there.
But the building was now tightly closed, the front gate no longer wide open as usual. White cloth and similar colored lanterns hung in front, marking the recent death of its occupants. When Jinshui and Huang Yu arrived there that night, none of the hanging lanterns were lit. The inside of the building also looked dark and gloomy, no one can be seen.
Huang Yu came closer to the gate and knocked, asking Jinshui to wait for him some distance away. Jinshui's hideous appearance was even more terrifying after a few days of traveling, some during the day, and he could frighten the Xu Family members.
After a while, a young man opened a small door beside the main gate and immediately stepped out with a sword in his hand. Huang Yu recognized the young man as Xu Chenghai's youngest disciple, named Jinguang, but it seemed that Jinguang didn't remember him.
"My name is Han Budian, the disciple of Zhulin Shen Jian (The Bamboo Forest Sword) Zhong Shaoyan from Jianyin Bang," Huang Yu didn't introduce his real identity. "Some brothers from Jianyin Bang are now on their way here to meet Xu Louzhu (owner of Huofeng Lou), they ask me to come here first to tell you. Can I meet…. "
"Who are you?" Jinguang langsung drew his sword out. "You are not from Jianyin Bang. Are you one of the groups coming here just to ask about some wooden chest or the treasure of Liangtian Jian Shen?"
"No, I just want to see Miss Xu Qiao, Xu Guniang," Huang Yu replied quickly, managing to stay calm when he realized Jinguang knew his false identity. "You may tell her, Hua Jinshui wants to see her."
"Who is Hua Jinshui?" asked Jinguang to him. "Go away, erfuren had given us an order not to take any guest."
He stepped back to the door with the sword in his hand.
"Xiongtai, did something happen to your Huofeng Lou?" Huang Yu asked him again, "where is your Xu Guniang now?"
"She pays her last respect," Jinguang answered trembly, "you better leave now. There's no treasure of Liangtian Jian Shen here in our Huofeng Lou."
Jinshui knew that he would not be able to extract information from the young man who was talking to Huang Yu. He had already darted up the wall silently, infiltrating the Xu Family residence. Something clearly happened to this place, he just wanted to know if Xu Qiao was okay.
Most of the buildings in Huofeng Lou were dark, only the main hall was slightly lit. White lanterns and mourning cloths were everywhere, making Jinshui even more worried. He shot up to the roof of the main hall, removing some of the tiles to look inside. Of course, he knew he had to do everything very carefully. In that room, there could be Xu Qiao's stepmother, the Snowy Palm Bao Xinfei who had a greater ability than him right now.
He saw seven coffins in the center of the main hall, all tightly closed. Around the coffins were four people wearing mourning clothes. One of those four people was a woman on her knees and she was recognized by Jinshui as Xu Qiao's stepmother, Bao Xinfei. The other three were burning praying papers and crying, probably Xu Chenghai's disciples. Jinshui tried to find Xu Qiao's figure among them, but couldn't find her.
Two other men were also standing in a front of those coffins, paying their respects to the deaths. The one in front was a middle-aged man carrying a dry bamboo stick in his hand. This middle-aged man was of medium height, his face was ordinary, and he wore a white vest and a white headband as well, indicating that he was also mourning. Behind him was a handsome young man wearing a similar appearance.
Jinshui tried to look around the room. He found that behind the seven large coffins were dozens of stretchers containing dead bodies, some of the cloth coverings were stained with dried blood, indicating that their deaths weren't long ago, or possibly the bodies were found just a while ago.
Instantly he felt his heart beat faster, worried that the young girl he had just saved a few days ago was now one inside of the coffins down there. Those seven coffins might contain Xu Chenghai, his wife, and their five daughters. For a moment Jinshui almost made a sound and his whereabouts were noticed by those down there.
"Shifu, I will help the brothers prepare for the burial," the handsome young man said to the owner of the bamboo stick. The bamboo stick man nodded once and preceded his students to leave the hall, apparently also going to take care of the burial.
Jinshui guessed the identity of the bamboo stick man was none other than Zhulin Shen Jian Zhong Shaoyan, the current leader of Jianyin Bang. No wonder when Huang Yu claimed to be a member of the Jianyin Bang at the front gate earlier, Jinguang immediately drew a sword and was about to chase him away. Apparently, the people of Jianyin Bang had already arrived at Huofeng Lou.
Jinshui was just about to leave the rooftop when he saw Jinguang coming in with Huang Yu behind him, immediately entered the hall to meet Bao Xinfei who was already standing beside Xu Chenghai's coffin. Bao Xinfei still recognized Huang Yu as the young man who had met her in Wenhu District and informed her of Xu Qiao's whereabouts a while ago, leaving Huang Yu to pay the necessary respects to the dead.
"Shiniang, this young master is Huang Yu, Huang Gongzi from Luoyang City," Jinguang introduced the guest, "the son of Huang Weiqun, Huang Zongbiaotou from Hailang Biaoju." Zongbiaotou meant the head of expedition company, and it referred to Huang Yu's father, Huang Weiqun.
It seemed that Huang Yu has already mentioned his real identity, and Jinguang remembered him.
"Huang Gongzi, did you come here to pick up your sister?" Bao Xinfei asked, her tone suppressed. She was curious because Huang Yu had mentioned the young man who was with Xu Qiao at that time was his friend. Later she discovered that the friend was Hua Jinshui, and Hua Jinshui was actually Yumen's primary descendant. She was also curious that the massacre in Huofeng Lou could have something to do with Huang Yu's father's arrival some time ago.
"Lian-er?" Huang Yu asked. His parents asked the servant to take his younger sister Huang Lian to the capital to see a relative, yet somehow Huang Lian arrived at Huofeng Lou.
"I met her on the way here," Bao Xinfei replied, "her servant was killed by an unknown person, and she was also being hunted."
"Our Huang family is in trouble, I am not here to bring Lian-er with me," Huang Yu replied, "if Huofeng Lou doesn't mind, maybe it would be best if Lian-er stayed here for a while."
"Huang family is in trouble," Bao Xinfei's tone slightly changed. "Did Huang Zongbiaotou and his wife...."
"They already went to a safer place," Huang Yu answered quickly, really didn't expect his parents to have the same fate as Xu Chenghai and his family. "Xu Furen, wanbei hasn't been home for a while, don't know what happened. It's said that a friend of my father's asked him to send something to Xu Louzhu, this thing has really brought misfortune to our Huang Family."
"I don't know," Bao Xinfei's tone rose slightly, her eyes were red. "Your father brought that wooden chest to Xu Chenghai, brought disaster to all of Huofeng Lou."
"Huang Gongzi," One of the youths wearing mourning clothes who had burned the praying papers stood up and approached Huang Yu and led him out of the room to speak elsewhere. They talked in the yard.
The young man's name was Mu Caisheng, and he was Xu Chenghai's second disciple. Huang Yu had only met Huofeng Lou's four disciples once, but his memory was good and he was still quite familiar with all of them.
Jinshui was still on the roof of the main hall. He closed the roof tile that had been opened earlier, then jumped into the courtyard and hid behind the artificial mountain to listen to Huang Yu's conversation with Mu Caisheng.
"A few days ago, Huang Zongbiaotou came here, and delivered a wooden chest to my master," Mu Caisheng said quietly, "Huang Zongbiaotou came alone, injured and exhausted, he said he had to avoid people who want to snatch the chest from his hand on his way here. I and dashixiong who took him to meet shifu."
"Someone asked my father to take the chest to your master. Did my father mention who handed him the wooden chest?" asked Huang Yu.
"I didn't know," Mu Caisheng replied honestly. "Your father met shifu and talked in private, none of us knew what they discussed. That day, your father stayed in Huofeng Lou for some rest. I remember that at night some people wearing all black tried to infiltrate Huofeng Lou, but were chased away by dashixiong and the others. Huang Zongbiaotou was worried that he would trouble shifu and his family because of the chest he was carrying, so the next day he said goodbye early in the morning. I remember that shifu looked very uneasy that day, and he asked dashixiong and I to escort your father back to Luoyang City immediately."
The two Huofeng Lou disciples who were escorting Huang Weiqun back to Hailang Biaoju's headquarters were Mu Caisheng and his senior brother Yang Lei. Xu Chenghai had two of his disciples accompany him all the way to Luoyang, apparently worried that something might happen to the Huang Family.
"Shifu also asked sanshidi and sishidi (third and fourth brother, Jinfei and Jinguang) to go to Jianyin Bang headquarter, asking Zhong Bangzhu to come to Huofeng Lou as soon as possible," Mu Caisheng continued. "We four brothers left as per master's orders. Ershiniang (second wife of master, meaning Bao Xinfei) had not yet returned. None of us who are still alive know what happened in Huofeng Lou over the past few days. When we came back, shifu and dashiniang were gone. Sanshidi and sishidi arrived first, just yesterday, along with Zhong Bangzhu and his disciple from Jianyin Bang, and found this place had already become a massacre site."
"Who killed Xu Louzhu and his family?" Huang Yu's voice sounded trembling.
Mu Caisheng shook his head sadly. "Don't know," he said, "everyone was killed by a sword slash, there is no trace of any particular sect of techniques. We haven't had time to talk here either because we have to take care of the bodies."
"Please tell Xu Furen, I take my leave now," Huang Yu said. "I'll try to find my parents to find out more clearly who started all this. Mu-xiong, hopefully, you can help me take care of my sister Lian-er."
"Huang Gongzi please wait," Bao Xinfei came out from within the main hall and came closer, blocking Huang Yu before leaving the place.
"Xu Furen, do you have something to tell me?" Huang Yu asked. He could feel that something was not right, but he didn't want to show it.
"Huang Gongzi, please come with me," Bao Xinfei spoke in a cold voice. "Caisheng, ask Zhong Bangzhu and Han Budian to meet us in daxian ke (pavilion of deity)."
--
Huang Yu followed Bao Xinfei to another part of the Xu Family's residence, a separate residential area surrounded by flower gardens that were supposed to be a beautiful place. But Huang Yu could see a lot of blood traces around the garden that hadn't been cleaned up yet, making it all feel terrifying at night.
They headed to a room filled with various kinds of paintings and calligraphy. Huang Yu found that the room was actually very clean, but the blood splattered on one of the walls of the room made it even scarier than the gardens outside. Bao Xinfei turned on the light as they needed, then grabbed something from the back of one of the hanging paintings. It was a wooden crate.
Jinshui quietly followed all the way to the daxian ke, punching a hole in the window paper to look inside. The wooden chest that Bao Xinfei took out was not big, but it was well crafted. The chest was almost completely white, the ornaments were very beautiful, the chest was also equipped with a safety lock and it was clearly the work of an expert.
Zhong Shaoyan and his main disciple Han Budian arrived there, still with Mu Caisheng. Mu Caisheng introduced the two to Huang Yu necessarily. Huang Yu knew that Zhong Shaoyan was the fourth disciple of the late Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang, nicknamed Zhulin Shen Jian or the Sword of the Bamboo Forest, and for the past ten years had been in the position of leader of the Jianyin Bang replacing his master.
Han Budian was Zhong Shaoyan's main disciple. This young man was known as an intelligent and talented young master of Jianyin Bang. He was about to be taken by guardian Huling as his descendant, but after a series of failed attempts, Huling took Baique instead.
"Huang Gongzi, this wooden chest was brought by your father and given to Xu Louzhu," Han Budian said to Huang Yu. "We found it hidden among Xu Furen's books in the main room, then brought it to this place and hoped that whoever was looking for it would come here."
Han Budian took the key from Bao Xinfei's hand and then carefully opened the wooden chest. The lock of the chest apparently had to be turned with a certain combination of numbers, somehow Han Budian could figure it out. Huang Yu didn't ask much and tried to adjust to the circumstances, realizing that Bao Xinfei had certain intentions when she brought him here.
The chest was opened, and inside was a pure white folding fan. The fan looked very simple but very delicate and beautifully made. Han Budian handed it to Huang Yu, looking calm, but at that moment Huang Yu realized that Bao Xinfei and Zhong Shaoyan were equally wary, anxiously awaiting his reaction to the contents of the precious chest.
"It's just an ordinary fan," Huang Yu said. He didn't touch the fan.
"Huang Gongzi may take a closer look," Han Budian said. "This fan had brought disaster to Huofeng Lou, as well as trouble to your Huang Family, it's certainly fine if you want to know clearly its origin."
Huang Yu received the fan carefully. He felt the fan was heavier than common folding fan sometimes used as weapon in the martial world. It was a special piece of art. When he unfold the fan, he found that the fan structure was all metal, and the fan body was not paper or cloth as usual, but a special, very strong material, such as a smooth and flexible layer of steel.
"A white steel fan," Huang Yu said, "How did this thing attract so many people?"
"This fan originally belonged to the late leader of Yumen Jiao, Tongjian Leishen Wu Youwei," Zhong Shaoyan answered, his voice calm yet wary, it seemed that Bao Xinfei had already told him something. "Twelve years ago, it was given to my master Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang as a gift."
The mention of Yumen's name instantly silenced Huang Yu while outside Jinshui secretly examined the expression of everyone in the room. Zhong Shaoyan and Bao Xinfei both had their backs facing the exit, apparently ready to take action against Huang Yu if their suspicions were proven correct. Han Budian looked calm but also alerted, only Mu Caisheng didn't seem to know something.
"This steel fan looks like an ordinary gift, but it is said to hold the secrets of the two highest arts in the martial world," Zhong Shaoyan continued, "it is reported that these two supreme arts can even defeat Yumen Jiao's manual, wuqing xue."
Huang Yu glanced at him, then looked at the fan that was still clasped in his hand, feeling it slowly. There was no writing nor painting on that fan, the surface was all pure white without any marks. Huang Yu had heard of the two supreme arts in the martial world that Zhong Shaoyan had just mentioned from his master Chailang, but of course, he couldn't mention it to everyone there. The two arts were said to be able to defeat wuqing xue. Words like this surely would attract the attention of many people and can make anyone interested in having the fan.
"Liangtian Jian Shen is Yumen's enemy, how can he obtain such a valuable item from the leader of Yumen himself?" Huang Yu asked, trying to stay calm and not wanting to reveal his identity as a descendant of Yumen.
"Huang Gongzi may have heard that the last level of Yumen's supreme art, that is the eighth level of wuqing xue, must be trained in a special way," said Han Budian, "and the eleventh generation Yumen leader, Wu Youwei, had never succeeded in reaching up to this level."
"I was just a child when he was dead," Huang Yu replied smilingly, "I never heard so much." He was telling the truth, Chailang indeed didn't tell him too much about the special method for perfecting wuqing xue.
"My master came to Yumen headquarters with several elders of the martial world twelve years ago to advise Wu Youwei to stop Yumen Jiao's cruelty," Zhong Shaoyan continued. "At that time he was well received, and then stayed for a while at the Yumen headquarters to discuss various kinds of martial arts with the leader."
"The secret in this fan has something to do with the result of their discussion," guessed Huang Yu.
"Yes," replied Zhong Shaoyan. "My master studied the theory of the two arts, initially to help Wu Youwei to reach the eighth level of wuqing xue. However, you also know that Yumen was a ruthless sect, and my master shouldn't really help the leader."
"Because it will create chaos in the martial world," said Huang Yu. "So he then took this fan away, hoping that someone would be able to use it against Yumen in the future."
"The fan was handed to my first senior brother Zhang Xianghui some time before master returning to Yumen headquarters for his final battle with Wu Youwei," Zhong Shaoyan also said. "Master knew that the last battle was a life-and-death battle, and he might be killed. Whereas at that time there was no longer a second person who could match Wu Youwei. Master only hoped that in the future there would be someone who could use the secret of the white steel fan to stop Yumen's cruelty."
"This fan was last known in the possession of Zhang Xianghui, Zhang Qianbei," said Huang Yu, "was he the one who handed it over to my father then?"
"Zhang Qianbei was reportedly also killed along with his master in Wansui Gu ten years ago," Mu Caisheng replied, "the rumor was this fan has been missing for the past ten years, only appearing again in the last few months."
"Then this fan had fallen into the hands of the people of Wansui Gu?" asked Huang Yu.
"Wansui Gu was one of the parties that wanted the fan the most. It seems impossible if the fan was in their possession for ten years as a useless object," replied Zhong Shaoyan, "no one knew of its whereabouts until someone handed it to your father, asking to deliver it to Xu Chenghai."
"Why deliver it to Xu Louzhu?" asked Huang Yu. "The fan was Zhang Zheliang's and it should be delivered to his disciple, to the leader of Jianyin Bang." He pointed at Zhong Shaoyan.
"The person who handed the white steel fan to your father did not want to hand it over to Chenghai, but to this other person who also lives in Huofeng Lou," Bao Xinfei said, "Liangtian Jian Shen's second disciple, Xie Tianhu."
"Liangtian Jian Shen's second disciple?" asked Huang Yu. "He lived here?"
"You know that the owner of Huofeng Lou had a lot of friends in the martial world, and had long been good friends with Liangtian Jian Shen's disciples," Bao Xinfei said again. "Xie Tianhu was unable to walk since about ten years ago, and Chenghai let him stay in this daxian ke. The blood on the wall is his blood, he was killed in the massacre a few days ago."
Jinshui felt slightly relieved when he heard these words. The coffins in the main hall were for Xu Chenghai and his wife, their four elder daughters, and lastly, Xie Tianhu, who also didn't survive the massacre. Xu Qiao wasn't in the coffin.
Huang Yu looked at the blood splatter on the wall of the room. Judging from the circumstances, the killer only slashed his sword once and whoever the victim was, he didn't have time to put up a fight and died instantly.
"My father sent the fan here to Xie Tianhu," said Huang Yu. "Xie Tianhu was a disabled man, no one will expect that the inheritance of his master will be handed to him. He should keep the steel fan and someday give it to a talented person."
"Yes," replied Han Budian. "It's just that the rumor of the Zhang Zheliang's relics had spread in the martial world, making many people chase after it, and the Xu Family became the victim."
"Who killed them?" Huang Yu asked, his voice trembling, worrying his family will share the same fate.
"This steel fan is related to the existence of Yumen Jiao, naturally the follower of the Yumen sect want it the most," Bao Xinfei said.
"Yumen Jiao doesn't exist anymore," said Huang Yu. "Xu Furen, please don't make a haphazard accusation."
"The Yumen Headquarters was destroyed, but the Yumen supporters are still out there," replied Bao Xinfei. "Huang Gongzi, Hua Jinshui is your friend. Do you know who Hua Jinshui is?"
"Jinshui?" asked Huang Yu, knowing he had to answer carefully. "He's just a friend."
"At first I thought he was a friend of yours. I found the trace of demonic sect energy in him but I can still allow him to help Xiao Qiao from that Wansui Gu poison," said Bao Xinfei. "But later I visited my master in Haitang Jian Pai, and she told me about the existence of eight Yumen descendants. Hua Jinshui was one of them. Huang Gongzi, are you one of them too?"
"Xu Furen, are you saying that our Huang family is the supporter of Yumen Sect?" Huang Yu asked her. He didn't want to admit nor deny it.
Bao Xinfei had yet to give an answer when a young member of the Jianyin Bang ran over while calling for his master. He just walked into daxian ke main room to find them.
"Shifu, Dashixiong, Guo-hu sent a pigeon here, and this is a letter for you," the young member spoke fast. "It is said that the chief of Hailang Biaoju from Luoyang City came to the headquarters of Jianyin Bang with his wife. They were injured, wanted to meet you and ask for protection."
His words shocked everyone in the room, including Jinshui who was still lurking from outside. Huang Yu put back the white steel fan he was still holding, and Han Budian immediately returned it to the chest and locked it away. Huang Yu snatched the letter from the young member's hand, indeed the letter informed the news of his parent's whereabouts.
"Xu Furen, my parents are in trouble," Huang Yu told Bao Xinfei, "ziaxia take my leave now, I have to find them as soon as I can."