They headed to the cave where Ma Yaolun live. It was only five days since they left that cave, but the nasty smell was worse. The corpses had been buried the other day with rocks from the ruins of the cave, but it seems the rocks weren't enough to cover up the stench. There were also new corpses in front of the cave, blood and body parts are scattered and creating a terrifying scene.
Jinshui and Ma Yongtao didn't expect this, of course. Since they escaped that cave five days ago, apparently the madman was angry. He went to find new victims after and had their bodies piled there, creating a new source of stench. Ma Yongtao checked on one of the corpses, but he didn't find any bite marks on the victim's neck.
"He really is mad, he didn't kill these people to practice anymore, but to harbor his temper," he said.
"These people wear the same outfit, if I'm not mistaken they are from Yongjun Hui, Huan Jiaozheng's men," added Jinshui. "Yongjun Hui people were not nice, but it's too early to call them criminals. Their members are slaughtered like this, I believe Huan Jiaozheng would soon come here to find the culprit."
A roaring noise was heard. The cave where Ma Yaolun lived collapsed, along with a roar that startled those outside. Ma Yongtao immediately took Jinshui away, avoiding other rocks that fell from the top of the cliff there. The earth felt to shake.
A loud laughing sound came after. The madman Ma Yaolun didn't bury himself inside the cave, he flew as the stones and dirt hadn't touched the ground. He rolled in the air several times and jumped around in four directions while laughing horrified.
"Not good," Ma Yongtao whispered, "you trained your wuqing xue during the last five days, but he also trained his evil manual to an imaginable level."
"We are here now, our only option is to fight."
Jinshui's sentences were like a hint, he and Ma Yongtao immediately lunged at the madman. Jinshui flicked some pebbles at him. He learned from Huang Yu the technique of using this secret weapon against a madman and it turned out to be of little use. Ma Yaolun kept hopping around like a little monkey, nimbly dodging the pebbles.
"Hua Jinshui, don't waste your time and energy playing pebbles with him," Ma Yongtao said to Jinshui. "I see none of them can touch even his robe."
"We have to come closer to counter a real attack," said Jinshui. "Your father has a great level of energy, I know he wants to buy some time, exhaust us, we cannot let him get what he wants. I will give you some of wuqing xue energy, you can use it to take me closer to him. You can try to keep up with his movements. We only have one chance, and we cannot fail."
"I understand," said Ma Yongtao.
Jinshui put two fingertips on Ma Yongtao's back, slowly channeling energy through that one point. A moment later Ma Yongtao felt as if his energy doubled, his footsteps felt light and he could later follow his father's movements since they share the same origins.
While one hand was busy transmitting power, Jinshui continued to launch pebble attacks with the other hand.
With the help of Jinshui's inner energy, Ma Yongtao was only able to approach the madman, one of his healed hands helped out when Jinshui collided with his opponent. The madman knew that fighting this way was unprofitable for him, he tried to widen the gap with the opponent.
Jinshui of course did not allow him to escape the barrier. Dozens of moves passed quickly, the madman's movements were slightly chaotic. He didn't think at all that a man with a crippled leg could lock him up tightly like this.
The rocks and sand around those who were fighting flew around, and the leaves of the trees also fell off under the swirling force. The movements that the madman played became more and more chaotic, his hands and feet darting around without any particular order. Jinshui increased the energy used, Ma Yongtao also exerted all his strength, and the two secretly agreed to hit the point of death on Ma Yaolun's top of the head.
However, you ling shen shou, Ma Yongtao's primary skill, was taught by Ma Yaolun. This signature martial skill was rather useless now. Ma Yongtao's every movement was easily predicted and failed by Ma Yaolun although that old man's brain was already damaged and he had no more sense of proper fight. Jinshui and Ma Yongtao's cooperation troubled the opponent but it didn't seem like it will last long.
Ma Yaolun's laughter sounded again, his hands lunged forward, his target was Jinshui. Ma Yongtao greeted him with his left hand, Jinshui followed him with his right. A short clash of energy proved that the madman's energy was extraordinarily strong. Jinshui just stretched out two fingers of his right hand, and had not yet managed to grab the top of his head, he and Ma Yongtao had already been knocked to the ground a few spears away, along with a strong gust of wind. Jinshui suddenly fell from his friend's arms.
Ma Yaolun saw his two opponents fall, he immediately chased after them, and made several flips in the air, attacking Jinshui from above. Ma Yongtao saw this situation, he immediately rolled over to his friend. If earlier it was Jinshui who gave him energy to enable him to move quickly, this time it was the other way around, Ma Yongtao channeled energy through Jinshui's back to protect him against the incoming attack.
The madman's body seemed to be suspended in the air, while his head was for a while in an exposed position. Jinshui's two hands were busy, while Ma Yongtao had one hand on Jinshui's back, the other was unusable. In this situation, Ma Yongtao had to use his feet, kick two stones that were close to him, and directly aim them both at his father's back and then at his head. Both stones hit the madman, of course, but missed the aimed acupuncture points.
But it was enough to make the madman pull his attacks and jumped back several times.
"It didn't work," said Ma Yongtao, "now what?"
"He's too strong, I'm not sure I can handle him," replied Jinshui, trying to think of another way out.
"He is looking for his jingyu wang (whale net)," said Ma Yongtao.
"The net with those thorns?" asked Jinshui.
"Yes, he likes it very much," said Ma Yongtao
"Did he bury it in the cave when he destroyed the roof?" Jinshui asked again.
"No, he would have it moved before."
True, the madman had put his favorite net in a safe place before he destroyed the roof of the cave. A few seconds later the thorny net was in his hand, he approached Jinshui and Ma Yongtao in the same way, flipping and jumping continuously.
"He wants to capture us alive," Jinshui said.
"He can still recognize me as his son, and wants me to help him take revenge, he would not kill me. Jinshui, I think you should go...."
"My legs are broken, I cannot run. You are injured too, you wouldn't be able to overpower him."
The madman was already close to them. He raised the net in his hand and was ready to throw it at his two quarries. But at this time, suddenly heard another sound of whistling wind, followed by the screams of the madman. The net was still in his hand when he fell to the ground, not far from Jinshui and Ma Yongtao. An arrow stuck in his back.
Ma Yaolun's face turned blue in that instant. The arrow on his back contained some poison. Jinshui shifted his gaze, discovering that the person who had just shot the arrow did not come alone.
There was a tall, middle-aged man, dressed in a dark, embroidered silk robe that looked splendid. His face was ruthless, clean but incomparably capable, his eyebrows were uneven, making one hate looking at him for too long.
The man was followed by several younger men dressed in similar dark silk robes, and they were all holding their weapons in their hands, ready to kill everyone who stand in their way.
Ma Yongtao run to his father as fast as he could, pulled the arrow from his back, and sucked the poison from the wounds without considering any possible consequences.
"Who are you?" Jinshui asked those new-coming people while sitting still on the ground. He didn't actually need to hear the answer as he recognized their outfits that were similar to the ones wore by the corpses around the cave. The uniform of Yongjun Hui bodyguards.
"The poison on that arrow already spread to the nervous system, you wouldn't be able to suck it out even if you drain his blood," the man who shot the arrow spoke in a cold tone, his eyes containing deep hatred. "That poison takes effect once it enters the body. That madman killed so many of my men, I made him suffer for three days and three nights before his death is quite reasonable."
"Give me the antidote!" Ma Yongtao yelled to the silk-robe man.
"He almost killed you two, why did you want to save him?" the silk-robe man asked in a really unpleasant tone.
"He's my father," Ma Yongtao answered quickly. "We fought him to save him, not to kill him."
"That madman is your father?" the silk-robe man asked again.
"He is not mad, just made a little mistake when practicing inner energy," replied Ma Yongtao. "Just give me the antidote."
"There is no antidote," the silk-robe man replied. "He killed so many of my men, Huan-mo hunted him down from Nanyang City."
"Huan-mo," Jinshui heard what that silk-robe man calls himself. "Are you Huan Jiaozheng, Huan Menzhu from Yongjun Hui?"
Hei Bao Jiangjun Huan Jiaozheng, the current leader of Yongjun Hui, was the man who was responsible most for the destruction of Yumen headquarters in Baiyu Shan thirteen years ago. One of the leaders of three alliances, the one who kept himself in the dark and never came out to meet the descendants.
"Who are you?" the silk-robe man asked him.
"That madman is not my father," Jinshui didn't want to mention his identity as Yumen descendant of Wu Youwei's son now. His xuanlong sword was left in Wansui Gu, and now he was disabled, a condition that didn't enable him to introduce his real name. "He was the one who injured and paralyzed me."
Huan Jiaozheng stepped closer and kicked his foot faintly. The silk-robe man also touched Jinshui's shoulder, gave it a slightly forceful pressure, and tried to make him exert his inner energy to reject. Jinshui felt a tightness in his chest, knowing he was still deeply injured. He had no other choice but to hold back. He didn't want to fall into Huan Jiaozheng's hands in his current condition.
"Huan Menzhu said that madman had already killed many members of Yongjun Hui, and you had painstakingly hunted him here and only then was able to poison him," Jinshui said sternly, "at this time killing him would be too good for him, leaving him would give him a chance to cure the poison and seek revenge. That poison will make him suffer three days and three nights. I believe Huan Menzhu also wants to see every second of it."
Huan Jiaozheng listened to his every word, a senile smile flashing across his face. He seemed to like watching people suffer, and Jinshui's words allowed him to enjoy a show.
"This place is still Wansui Gu territory, Zeng Baifeng's area, and you know that Zeng Guzhu's medicine and poison are innumerable," Jinshui continued, "three days is more than enough time to obtain an antidote. I heard that a few days ago there was chaos in Wansui Gu. Anyone can freely go in and out of the valley and take whatever is there."
"Brother, you heard that rumor too," one of Huan Jiaozheng's men said. "That is right, Wansui Gu was visited by an enemy a few days ago. We don't know what happened, but there was no one guarding the entrance."
Huan Jiaozheng was quiet for a while and stared at the sky, his face looked arrogant and he obviously considered himself as someone smart and diligent. He truly considered Jinshui's every word for his own benefit.
"What are you doing?" Ma Yongtao asked Jinshui half whispering.
"Buy us some time," Jinshui replied in a low tone.
"Take them too," Huan Jiaozheng suddenly said to his men.
Half of Yongjun Hui's bodyguards were murdered during the attack on Yumen Headquarters in Baiyu Shan thirteen years ago. Half of them were later killed by Guardian Ducao using his cruel method.
The bodyguards who came with Huan Jiaozheng now were six of the new recruits. They were just a few paid fighters who didn't seem to be doing very well. Their attitudes and ways of speaking were rough, their accents were slightly different.
They led Ma Yongtao who was carrying Ma Yaolun out of the valley, then dragged Jinshui as well. Ma Yaolun was already unconscious, Jinshui used the inner energy given by his master Moying, and deliberately pressed his own body weight to the ground, slowing down the steps of the person who was dragging him.
"This young man is really troublesome," the person sighed in annoyance, "what's the point of bringing him?"
Huan Jiaozheng glared at that person, forced him to shut his mouth, and was forced to exert himself. Ma Yongtao looked at Jinshui, and shook his head once, noting that their situation was very unfavorable, the further away from Wansui Gu the more unfavorable it actually was.
When they reached the main road, they found a horse cart brought by an old farmer. Huan Jiaozheng's followers seized the cart, forced their three captives onto it, then continued down the mountain road, heading west instead of north towards Nanyang City. It seemed that these Yongjun Hui people were on their way somewhere, and they had no plans to return to their base yet.
Ma Yaolun groaned in pain, the poison from the arrow that hit his back had dispersed and his condition was quite severe. Ma Yongtao secretly channeled his inner energy to keep his life. Jinshui sat against the wall of the chart, unseen by Huan Jiaozheng and his men, and then tried to adjust the pure energy to recover as quickly as possible.
"I guess they are waiting for us to kill each other," Ma Yongtao whispered to Jinshui, "I Liangshan Mojun Ma Yongtao today fall into the hands of the Yongjun Hui people, if this news spreads throughout the martial world, Liangshan Liu Mo's reputation will be destroyed.
"We only need to recuperate for one day," replied Jinshui, "after our conditions improve, it shouldn't be difficult to leave this place. At that time, if you want to finish them off, I won't get in the way."
"I never killed anyone, how come you've forgotten," Ma Yongtao said. "Yongjun Hui is the enemy of your Yumen, Huan Jiaozheng is also the number one thorn in your flesh. Hua Jinshui, would you like to borrow my hand to deal with them?"
"How do you think the martial ability of that Huan Jiaozheng?" Jinshui asked. "Earlier when he pressed my shoulder, I could feel his inner energy was quite strong. If my xuanlong jian weapon was here, I could still beat him. But without my weapons, I'm not too sure either."
"Huan Jiaozheng possesses huanghe chuan (yellow crane art), a martial ability based on the fei huang he qi shu (seven flying yellow cranes) belonging to the ancestor of the Huan Family," said Ma Yongtao. "Huan Jiaozheng's grandfather was a laoqianbei who was highly respected in the martial world at that time, not only because of his advanced skills but also because of his demeanor that everyone would be disdainful of. It's just a shame, his children and grandchildren are so despicable."
"You didn't answer my question," said Jinshui.
"I can defeat him using my two hands, Hua Jiaozhu doesn't need to worry," Ma Yongtao said mockingly. "If you've rested enough, it's my turn to step in. By the way, you have the ability to transfer the leiying hua poison from so many people to your own body, meaning you can transfer the poison from my father to the leader of Yongjun Hui. Making him only suffer three days of pain really wasn't enough if it's according to my ordinary habit. But looking at him as just an idiot, I also had no intention of wasting time with him."
"You cannot do it yourself?" asked Jinshui. "Your master should have taught you the wuqing xue energy, right?"
"She did, it's just I was still so busy playing my role as the fake Liangshan Mojun during the last few years, and I was more interested to learn my father's ghostly palm so that I can make myself a perfect replacement for him," said Ma Yongtao. "Regarding the poison, I have no choice but to trouble Hua Jiaozhu."
Just before noon that day, they met six other members of the Yongjun Hui, coming from the opposite direction, bringing horses for everyone. One person went straight to Huan Jiaozheng. He was a short, middle-aged man with a burn scar extending from his chin to his neck, hanging from his waist by a crescent moon saber.
"They are at the front," the short man immediately said to Huan Jiaozheng, "resting at a tavern."
"Is that rumor real?" Huan Jiaozheng asked him.
"Xu Guniang of Huofeng Lou is said to have given the silver fan left by Liangtian Jian Shen to that lady surnamed Shen," the short man replied. "Just don't know what Xu Guniang has to do with the people of Qingxiang Zhuang."
Jinshui heard that shot man mention the name Xu Qiao, he reacted immediately, almost got up, and grabbed the short man. But his legs still couldn't be used, he could only sat on the cart.
"Xu Chenghai's daughters are all dead," another Huan Jiaozheng's man spoke, "the last one was recently killed by the demon head Hua Jinshui, it was Xu Erfuren herself who announced her death."
Ma Yongtao glanced at Jinshui. "You killed your girl?" he whispered mockingly.
Jinshui ignored him and paid attention to the short man. He wanted to hear more about Xu Qiao, but the short man didn't come to Huan Jiaozheng to talk about a girl.
"The silver fan left by Liangtian Jian Shen appeared three years ago, then disappeared ever since the Xu Family was killed," the short man said again. "It's very possible that the fan has been in the hands of Huofeng Lou's people these few years. It is said that Xu Guniang has fallen into the hands of the demon head Hua Jinshui."
"I don't care about all kinds of Xu Guniang." Huan Jiaozheng said. "That fan is Liangtian Jian Shen's legacy, I just want to look at it for a while."
They continued walking and brought along a cart containing Jinshui and the others. The short man still had time to look at the three captives, but at that time Jinshui was still dirty and messy after days of being held captive by Ma Yaolun, together with Ma Yongtao in the deserted valley, and now fell into the hands of the enemy. Ma Yongtao was the same, his appearance as a handsome scholar who turned out to be the second member of Liangshan Liu Mo was no longer visible. No one would have guessed that the two dirty and messy youths were Yumen Mowang and Liangshan Mojun.
Not far ahead was a teahouse by the road, among the guests there were the same two young women dressed in fine white clothes and austere attire, each carrying a thin sword. No one turned their heads as Huan Jiaozheng and his men approached, still sipping tea and enjoying snacks leisurely.
"Is there any Shen Xiru, Shen Guniang here?" the short man immediately called out to the guests in the teahouse, "our menzhu wants to meet you."
One of the two women stood up and approached Huan Jiaozheng directly, clasping hands and smiling serenely. Jinshui immediately recognized the woman as Shen Xiru, the main bodyguard and confidante of the old woman Xi Xiaofeng, the owner of Qingxiang Zhuang whom he had recently met.
Jinshui also recognized the girl who was with Shen Xiru as Jiaping, the girl who welcomed him to Chunjie Kezhan and brought him into the secret underground residence. Somehow this Shen Xiru and her sister were far away from Qingxiang Zhuang.
"Xiaomei Shen Xiru," Shen Xiru introduced her name without any hesitance. "You are from Yongjun Hui," she recognized the attires of the arriving men. "Are you Hei Bao Jiangjun Huan Jiaozheng, Huan Menzhu?" she looked directly at Huan Jiaozheng, not at the short one, correctly guessing the identity of the leader Yongjun Hui.
"Guniang recognizes me," Huan Jiaozheng said haughtily, not wanting to reveal his identity but finding that he was recognized, he tried to respond flatly.
"Having heard about Huan Menzhu from Yongjun Hui for a long time, it is an honor to meet you just now," Shen Xiru replied almost friendly. "Huan Menzhu went to see xiaomei, was it also because of the fan said to be the legacy of Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang, Zhang Laoqianbei?"
"Ah, now that Shen Guniang said it like that, Huan-mo feels embarrassed," Huan Jiaozheng stuttered a bit as he realized his intentions were known so quickly and was mentioned to his face. "It is said that Shen Guniang got a silver fan from someone known as Xu Guniang, and is currently on her way to Baiyu Shan, and unfortunately is about to pass this treasure to the descendants of Yumen."
"The news that Huan Menzhu received was quite reliable," Shen Xiru also replied, "Recently there was news that Liangtian Jian Shen's relics had reappeared in the martial world, and Huan Menzhu had arrived here to ask xiaomei directly. I don't know who has told you about this."
"No one told us," the short man replied. "Do you have that silver fan or not?"
"There was indeed a lady who claimed to be Miss Xu of Huofeng Lou, a while ago deliberately leaving a fan in our Qingxiang Zhuang," Shen Xiru replied, "not a silver fan, but a white steel fan. That fan is just an ordinary object, but it seems that there are many people who want it, making Xiaomei have to leave the house."
Jinshui knew Shen Xiru had met the real Xu Qiao and she wouldn't address her as a self-proclaimed Miss Xu from Huofeng Lou. The reappearance of Zhang Zheliang's relic was a similar incident to the one that happened three years ago, the party that received the fan was then chased by many people.
"Shen Guniang is really going to hand over Liangtian Jian Shen's relics to the Yumen descendants?" Huan Jiaozheng asked.
"Xiaomei was acquainted with Hua Shaoxia and fellow Yumen descendants a while ago, and xiaomei can see they are youths with chivalry, not greedy and trustworthy," Shen Xiru spoke, looking at Huan Jiaozheng as she smiling as if she were calling the leader Yongjun Hui had the opposite character, a lowly, greedy and untrustworthy person. "After all, this white steel fan was said to have been given by the former leader of Yumen to Liangtian Jian Shen. Liangtian Jian Shen is gone, naturally, the fan must be returned to the successor of the previous leader of Yumen."
"That fan contains the map of the manuals created by Liangtian Jian Shen, it must not fall into the hands of the Yumen descendants," Huan Jiaozheng immediately said.
"Shouldn't it fall into their hands, should it fall into your hands?"
Shen Xiru asked as Jiaping rose to her feet and prepared to engage in fights with Huan Jiaozheng and his men. Two young girls faced dozens of men, but they didn't seem the least bit worried.
"That guniang is really brave." Ma Yongtao whispered to Jinshui. "Do I need to finish that Huan Jiaozheng now so that those ladies don't need to spoil their dress and makeup? Besides, I also started to bored to see his face."
"Don't create an unsightly scene for those ladies," Jinshui said quietly.
Ma Yongtao nodded once, then handed Ma Yaolun over to Jinshui before darting off the carriage, hovering in a splendid motion, and standing directly in front of Huan Jiaozheng and his men before they charged toward Shen Xiru and Jiaping. Huan Jiaozheng gasped in surprise, not expecting that the captive he was carrying could suddenly move so fast, he unknowingly still had time to turn his eyes to Jinshui.