When the one-day Jinshui gave had passed, the fifteen members of Yuzhi Shi Wu, along with Lao Diaoyan and Lao Guishou and the new Yumen followers under the leadership of Yaoyao were allowed to trace Huang Zhe again. It wasn't long before they discovered his whereabouts. Huang Zhe went to a small town not far away, disguised himself as a beggar, and joined a group of other beggars.
Jinshui and his friends followed the marks left by Yaoyao's men, quietly entering the city gates that afternoon. They didn't want to make a fuss and attract the attention of the townspeople, so they intended to secretly arrest Huang Zhe at night.
They were just about to find a restaurant when a group of men came to them. The men were all dressed in beautiful black and white silk, only one man at the very front was wearing an embroidered gray robe. He was a young man of nearly thirty years of age, his face was clean and serene and his steps were light. He and his men didn't carry any weapons, although their faces were not friendly but it didn't look like they wanted to look for trouble.
"Are you all from Yumen Jiao?" the gray robe man clasped hands on his chest and asked Jinshui while smiling faintly.
"I'm Hua Jinshui," Jinshui introduced his name only. "Are you Meng Shaozhuangzhu from Dayue Mansion?" Shaozhuangzhu meant the young master of the mansion.
"My name is Meng Xiao," the gray robe man answered flatly. "Some of my people have told me, Hua Jiaozhu is in the vicinity with his friends of the other Yumen descendants, reportedly about to catch a fugitive. Meng Xiao has wanted to meet all of you for a long time, only because Dayue's Mansion is quite far away so this is the first time we have been able to meet."
The gray-robed man introduced himself as Meng Xiao, the son of the current great master of Dayue Mansion, Meng Yan. Dayue Mansion was one of the most influential mansions in the martial world for generations. Even though during the reign of Meng Yan and his father, this mansion rarely interfered in outside affairs, it seemed that Meng Xiao had the intention of continuing the great name of his grandfather and great-grandfather and will bring the Dayue Mansion as a new leader in the world of martial arts again.
"Hua-mo also has the intention of visiting Meng Zhuangzhu at Dayue Mansion, just hasn't had the chance yet," Jinshui said. "Today to be able to meet Meng Shaozhuangzhu here is really lucky for me."
"It's not convenience to talk here," Meng Xiao said, "Hua Jiaozhu, if you don't mind, I've already had people prepare a place so we can all have dinner together and have some wine."
"Hua-mo doesn't want to refuse Meng Shaozhuangzhu's request, it's just that I still have some business to deal with at the moment," Jinshui said. "The fugitive we're chasing just so happens to be a thief. He took my xuanlong sword a while ago, and there is a possibility that he will fake my name to make chaos in the martial world. Hua-mo has a task to complete, Hua-mo hopes Meng Shaozhuangzhu will understand."
"Since a long time ago there had been rumors about a fake Yumen Mowang, that time was around Wuzhang City," said Meng Xiao. "Is Hua Jiaozhu hunting this person?"
"Yes," Jinshui replied.
"Then Hua Jiaozhu, just take your time," said Meng Xiao.
Even though Meng Xiao let Jinshui and his friends leave, it was obvious that he still had his men secretly observed. All over the small town were Dayue Mansion's followers, and Jinshui knew if he made a fuss it would have no small impact in the future.
Yaoyao was coming before Meng Xiao and his men left, with two members following her as usual. The girl paid no heed to Dayue Mansion's people and went straight to Jinshui.
"Jiaozhu, we fell into a trap," she reported, "Huang Zhe captured two victims and brought them to the outskirts of the city."
Jinshui and the others quickly followed Yaoyao to the outskirts of the city. Huang Zhe apparently already knew that he was being followed, he spent half a day joining a number of beggars and even asked them to treat his wounds. Secretly, he put poison on the beggars' food, making one by one roll in pain along the way.
When Yaoyao and her men came, Huang Zhe had already changed his beggar appearance, posing as a hunchbacked old carpenter, and managed to escape. When Yaoyao and her men realized he was no longer with the beggars, they gave chase. That was when Huang Zhe suddenly caught two young people who weren't alert enough, then took them to the outskirts of town.
They headed for an empty house. The Yumen members had already locked up there and made sure that Huang Zhe brought the captives there, there was no escape. The Yuzhi Shi Wu girls also arrived, almost at the same time as Jinshui and his friends. Meng Xiao was still following some distance with his men.
Inside the empty house, they can still see two captives, and another shadow at the back. Jinshui and Huang Yu both stepped in, Yaoyao followed and turned on a lantern.
In the middle of the empty house, two youths were tied together, both of them had not moved at all. The faces of the two of them were covered with scratches from sharp weapons, their clothes were torn, and their condition was very pitiful. When Huang Yu was about to check, he realized that the two youths were familiar and that both of them had already died with multiple fractured bones.
The two youths were none other than Zhou Xiangnu and Yang Lei. As far as Huang Yu knew they should still be in Baiyu Shan, somehow got to this place and had already been killed. Huang Yu noticed their injuries, they weren't new at all. These two had been injured a day ago, and the blood on their faces had started to dry up.
It seemed that Huang Zhe didn't really try to recuperate when Jinshui gave him a chance, instead, he immediately went as far as he could and killed more victims.
Yaoyao walked to the inside part of the house, pulling out a hunchbacked old man who was hiding among the pile of wood. Jinshui was alert, Huang Yu had also released a chess piece to immobilize the hunchback before Yaoyao brought him to Jinshui. That hunchback wasn't Huang Zhe.
"Who are you?" Huang Yu immediately asked. "These two, were you the one who killed them?"
"I don't know," the hunchback replied in fright, "that young master gave me some silver coins, asked me to leave when the beggars were in pain, and came right here. He said… he said there were two youths here, two young youths who were getting married, and they were going to give me more silver money."
Yaoyao rushed out and ordered her men to hunt down Huang Zhe again. Huang Yu found a letter lying on the floor of the house, not far from the two bodies. The letter was clearly addressed to him. He quickly opened the letter.
"Three years ago, the Wansui Gu people joined the hunt for the white fan in our father's hand, causing the death of many Hailang Biaoju members," the letter said. It was Huang Zhe's writing. "According to Xie Tianhu, our parents died while fighting this woman. I'm only taking revenge on Zhou Xiangnu, not counting breaking Hua Jinshui's words not to kill anyone."
Zhou Xiangnu had been with Yang Lei for quite some time, they were already planning a wedding. Zhou Xiangnu said goodbye to Liuxin and said that Yang Lei would take her to Huofeng Lou in Anhui Province. Yang Lei intended to ask his master's wife, Bao Xinfei, for her blessing. It was only because Liuxin didn't know Yang Lei and Zhou Xiangnu too well and didn't really care, so she didn't feel the need to tell Huang Yu and the others.
Jinshui and Huang Yu asked their men to bury Zhou Xiangnu and Yang Lei's bodies, and also ordered to convey the news of Yang Lei's death to Bao Xinfei at Huofeng Lou. After all, Yang Lei was the disciple of Huofeng Lou's late owner, even though he had followed a girl from Wansui Gu for so long, at least he still has the intention of returning and still acknowledges Bao Xinfei as the wife of his master.
Yuzhi Shi Wu members and the others dispersed again to find Huang Zhe's whereabouts. Several days later, they just informed Jinshui and the others, that Huang Zhe was heading to Huofeng Lou, Xu Qiao's home in Anhui Province.
--
Huofeng Lou.
Xuehua Zhishou Bao Xinfei returned to this place with Xiu-er with her a few months ago. At that time, there were only a few disciples of the late Xu Chenghai who still lived there. They were Mu Caisheng, Jinfei, and Jinguang.
Xiu-er only lasted a few days in this place. The cold Bao Xinfei, the introvert Mu Caisheng and the less friendly Jinfei and Jinguang were very unpleasant to her. Leaving only a letter for Bao Xinfei, she left Huofeng Lou.
Bao Xinfei stood on the balcony in daxian ke that afternoon, not turning on any light, looking up at the clouds above, feeling the silence around her. The breeze played with the ends of her hair, making the left sleeve reveal the emptiness behind it, and she just let it slide.
The wind chimes hanging at the end of the balcony rang loudly, then fell to the ground, Bao Xinfei immediately felt something was wrong. Leaves flew, and even a few small birds that were about to return to their nests were knocked down there and died. Bao Xinfei felt a wave of energy approaching, she clenched her fist and was alert. The enemy daring to enter Huofeng Lou was definitely not just any figure.
A small figure floated down from the roof of the building, passing in front of Bao Xinfei before the madam had even thought of anything else. Realizing the small figure could have been a child, she darted from the balcony and tried to catch it. The madam's body agility was good. Once she jumped, she was able to catch up with the small figure. But she had not yet managed to grab it, several tiles had shot up from its place, hitting her only one remaining arm so that the small figure slipped from her hand.
"Who was that?"
Bao Xinfei had landed safely on the ground. The small figure that she failed to catch hit the ground mercilessly. Bao Xinfei forgot about her attacker for a moment. She saw the silk dress worn by the small figure that appeared to be lying on the ground. These were the clothes that Xiu-er had worn before fleeing Huofeng Lou, just a few days ago.
"Xiu-er!" she cried out in dismay. If Xiu-er was thrown from the roof of a two-story building like that, there was no way that little girl could make it. Bao Xinfei quickly approached the small figure, then turned it around.
"Xiu-er, you...."
Some white powder came from the small figure and spread across Bao Xinfei's face, too late for her to cover her eyes. The last thing she saw was Xiu-er's clothes wrapped in a small amount of dry, poisoned straw. Then she felt pain in her face, especially in her eyes. Her screams were heard a moment after, followed by the laughter of someone else who was not far from her.
"Injuring the young madam of Huofeng Lou, Xuehua Zhishou Bao Xinfei, was surprisingly easy."
Bao Xinfei only heard the sound of the wind accompanying the voice without being able to see clearly, she didn't dare to move carelessly. Faintly saw a figure in a black robe floating down from the roof, landing only several steps from her.
"Who are you?" Bao Xinfei asked the figure.
"The first son of Huang Family of Hailang Biaoju, Huang Zhe," the black-robed man introduced himself. His sound was electrifying. "Xu Furen, zaixia has long heard of your great name, today only had the chance to visit Huofeng Lou to get acquainted with you."
"Huang Zhe?" Bao Xinfei recognized this name. "Your younger brother is Huang Yu, the descendant of Chailang of the Yumen Jiao."
"That's right," replied Huang Zhe.
"I have nothing to do with your brother, or with you," Bao Xinfei said, noticing that her eyes were getting cloudy. She tried to exert her inner strength to neutralize the poison, what she felt was the excruciating pain in her eyes.
"Hua Jinshui will be here soon," Huang Zhe said, "you could say I invited him on purpose. He was already the new leader of Yumen Sect, and would soon have to settle matters of marriage with Xu Wuguniang. Of course, he had to ask Xu Furen for a blessing."
"My business with Yumen Jiao, has nothing to do with you," Bao Xinfei replied.
"I just want to help Xu Furen resolve the dispute with the Yumen leader," Huang Zhe replied. "A while ago you announced that Xu Wuguniang died at the hands of Yumen Mowang Hua Jinshui, naturally Xu Furen would want to avenge her death. Xu Furen had already lost an arm now, and would soon lose sight as well. This revenge, zaixia might be able to help a bit."
"What do you really want?" Bao Xinfei heard Huang Zhe's tone was without any good intention, instead, he had other plans. She could also faintly see that Huang Zhe held a sword in his hand, and she was no stranger to the shape of that sword.
"This Xuanlong jian belongs to Hua Jinshui," Huang Zhe continued. "Xu Furen has an ocean-deep grudge against Hua Jinshui, if the people of the martial world find you killed by this sword, and Hua Jinshui also comes to Huofeng Lou, then word will naturally spread that the Yumen leader who killed Xu Wuguniang also killed Xuehua Zhishou Bao Xinfei."
"You are not a friend of Hua Jinshui," Bao Xinfei said, "you came here to ruin Yumen Jiao's name and Hua Jinshui's reputation."
"That's right," Huang Zhe replied. "Actually, I don't feel comfortable admitting it, but your late husband Xu Louzhu was a friend of my father, meaning Xu Furen is also not an outsider. I can tell you so Xu Furen would not die of curiosity. My younger brother Huang Yu had always been the favored son, and later he became the descendant of the Yumen and not me. I was dissatisfied. And then I had to call the killer of my parents as a master, humbled myself for a long time in order to get the yin shou yang zhang manual, the martial art who was famously shrewd enough to match my brother's wuqing xue."
"Yin shou yang zhang?" Bao Xinfei only knew this art as the creation of Liangtian Jian Shen, she had never witnessed it herself.
"My master was Xie Tianhu, the second disciple of Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang," Huang Zhe continued. "Three years ago he killed thirty-five people in this place, then also killed my parents. Reportedly, this daxian ke used to be his residence. I just want to see, the place that that vile human used to plan the destruction of our Hailang Biaoju."
"What did you say?" Bao Xinfei asked. At the meeting in Yiling District a few months ago, Xu Qiao mentioned that the murder of the Xu Family three years prior was committed by Xie Tianhu. At that time Bao Xinfei refused to admit it because of her hatred towards Jinshui, but she also did not ignore it. Now someone came to say the same thing, really adding to her regret for letting hatred cloud her senses.
"Xu furen, zaixia has no personal grudges against you," Huang Zhe raised the sword in his hand. "Your death today will serve to hinder Yumen Jiao's return, I believe you will also be able to rest easy in the afterlife."
Bao Xinfei's vision was already blurry, she could only see the faint flash of the sword, then her ears heard an attack was coming. At the same time, she also noticed the presence of a number of people on the roof of daxian ke, and some secret weapons were shot from there, blocking Huang Zhe from reaching his target.
Jinshui and his friends had arrived there.
They knew that Huang Zhe was headed for Huofeng Lou, constantly changing disguises along the way and successfully tricking the Yumen followers several times. Along the way, Huang Zhe also killed a number of followers of various sects, drained their inner energy, then deliberately left the heretic signature of wuqing xue by shattering the victim's bones.
Since Huang Zhe's action could damage Yumen's name and create new chaos in the martial world, Jinshui then asked Yaoyao and her men to cover up, burying every victim quickly. Nearly a month had passed and Huang Zhe's cunning had truly tired and troubled the descendants.
Jinshui then asked Yuzhi Shi Wu members and other followers not to follow Huang Zhe anymore because he knew that Huang Weiqun's first son could recognize those who were hunting him and was able to evade with his current abilities, not even hesitating to injure or kill. The only ones who could match Huang Zhe were Jinshui and the other descendants, so those who then chased and tried to catch him, finally arrived at Huofeng Lou.
Huang Zhe recognized the chess piece that thwarted his sword strike, he also realized that Jinshui and the others had come too quickly. At that time he also saw three of Xu Chenghai's disciples coming closer, apparently heard the commotion, and knew that Bao Xinfei was in daxian ke.
With a swift and vicious movement, Huang Zhe turned his sword again and swiftly aimed it at Bao Xinfei's neck to threaten her. The madam knew that the enemy was still there, she tried to fight back, ignoring her own safety. She only had one arm left, her vision was also very blurry, and her baolian moves cannot be played perfectly.
Huang Zhe with his current abilities was able to easily break all of her attacks. Xuehua Zhishou Bao Xinfei was known to be a high-skilled in martial arts, but her current condition made her really powerless.
Jinshui and Huang Yu left the others on the roof, floated down, and landed lightly in front of the daxian ke building. Xu Chenghai's three disciples knew Huang Yu, thinking he had come to help his older brother Huang Zhe, so they attacked together.
Lin Jixuan also floated down, took Xiu-er with him, and managed to restrain Xu Chenghai's three disciples, then introduced himself and asked Mu Caisheng and his two juniors not to interfere.
Jinshui knew that if he directly intervened against Huang Zhe, then Bao Xinfei might not accept it. The madam once cut off her own arm because she didn't want to be in debt to herself. No one knew what else she would have done if she had known that Jinshui had come to Huofeng Lou.
Jinshui quickly stamped his feet, trying to grab the xuanlong sword in Huang Zhe's hands while keeping his distance from Bao Xinfei.
Huang Yu also knew Bao Xinfei's hatred towards Jinshui. He tried to get rid of the madam from the battle arena. However, Bao Xinfei had already guessed who was coming, her tough temper made her unhappy, and she was still trying to play the techniques taught by her master Yuan Wancui.
"Xu furen, your future son-in-law has come to catch a highly skilled fugitive. You are nothing but a cripple now. If you keep blocking and the fugitive gets away, it will cause disaster," Ma Yongtao was impatient to see Bao Xinfei's attitude, he shouted from the roof. "When that happens, how could you be responsible to the entire world?"
"Who are you?" Bao Xinfei asked. She only faintly recognized Ma Yongtao's voice as the handsome scholar who was present at the meeting in Yiling District a few months ago.
"We are the descendants of Yumen," Qin Liangjie also didn't feel the need to hide his identity. "Xu Furen better step aside for a bit. Our leader doesn't want to disturb Huofeng Lou's peace, just wants to catch a dangerous criminal who happens to run this way."
"Hua Jinshui," Bao Xinfei tried to find the person she hated so much. "You have come here yourself, I will avenge Xiao Qiao."
Lin Jixuan had already floated away leaving Mu Caisheng and his two juniors, and Xiu-er. His finger was ready to give Bao Xinfei a jab and push the madam away from the battle arena. However, Huang Zhe moved faster, grabbed the madam's remaining hand, then pulled her into the daxian with a swift movement. Bao Xinfei was still trying to kick towards him, but at that moment she felt the opponent's extremely strong energy, and that energy spread throughout her body and made her feel like she was losing all her bones.
Jinshui knew he had to keep a distance from Bao Xinfei. He didn't act recklessly. Huang Yu was also still holding back as he looked at Jinshui. The two of them followed into daxian ke's room, on high alert. Liao Xian and Qin Liangjie came down from the roof and quickly followed. Liuxin followed with Li Qian. Zhu Baique remained on the roof with Ma Yongtao, he started playing his bayinxiao flute and tried to distract Huang Zhe.
The room inside daxian ke was very dark, no light source could penetrate its walls and the room divider. Huang Yu was just about to turn on the lighter when Huang Zhe threw Bao Xinfei's body to him and Jinshui. Huang Yu was forced to catch before Bao Xinfei's body fell to the ground. He felt some warm liquid running down his arm.
Huang Yu carried Bao Xinfei out of the room and handed her over to Liuxin. Bao Xinfei was still breathing, but was already seriously injured and fell unconscious when Liuxin took her to another part of Huofeng Lou, trying to keep her alive using the inner energy given by Guardian Shuiyao.
Inside the daxian ke room, Jinshui hunted down Huang Zhe and fought him in the dark. Li Qian and Qin Liangjie heard the voices of the two but didn't join the fight because the dark room might make them attack their own friends and make things even more difficult. Only Liao Xian who was able to adjust more quickly to the dimly lit room then took the spear from Qin Liangjie's hand and handed it to Jinshui.
Jinshui at that time did not use weapons, facing Huang Zhe who was still holding the xuanlong sword, of course, it would be very dangerous. Liao Xian was able to precisely move to his side, pass the spear into his hand, simultaneously using the pen weapon in his hand to block Huang Zhe's single attack.
"Jinshui, straight ahead, half spear away," Liao Xian called out the position of the opponent. Jinshui raised the spear quickly, trying to follow the lead. He managed to scratch Huang Zhe's arm. This enemy's movements were very fast and agile, and he was still able to dodge and not lose his hand.
In this dark room Huang Zhe was of course just as blind. But apart from oneself, everyone was an enemy. Anyone who was nearby can be hit or kill. Even though he wasted a few times in vain, the situation was still a bit more favorable for him. Liao Xian understood this situation, so he wants to take advantage of it a little, at least it must prevent Huang Zhe from escaping.
"To the left, only one qi (one-third of a meter)," Liao Xian hinted again. Jinshui moved faster and faster, Huang Zhe couldn't dodge anymore. When Li Qian lit the lighter, the spear in Jinshui's hand had already successfully stabbed into Huang Zhe's right thigh, quite a lot of blood flowed out. Huang Zhe glared at Jinshui, trying to muster all his strength, he jumped up and broke through the roof, flying away from Daxian too.
Jinshui still had time to return the spear to Qin Liangjie, then chased up onto the broken roof. Others followed. Huang Zhe was about to run away from Huofeng Lou, but one leg was already injured, he rolled on the roof and fell on the front of daxian ke, shocking everyone there.
Huang Zhe got up quickly, ignoring the pain in his legs, and immediately jumped back. The one he saw first was Xiu-er and Xu Chenghai's three disciples who were there, the xuanlong sword in his hand directly aimed at them. Jinfei and Jinguang who tried to block them were hit by a sword and died instantly. Mu Caisheng tried to pull Xiu-er away but Huang Zhe had already grabbed the girl and immediately snapped her neck.