ke it….” Before he finished what he was saying, he slumped over and died.

The two sworn brothers always thought of each other as real blood brothers. Seeing his brother die like this, a phrase popped up amidst the anger and the rage in Yang Tiexin’s mind. It is the phrase that they said when they became sworn brothers, “Hope to die on the same day of the same month of the same year.” He lifted his head up to look around. The two wives had gone missing in all the chaos.

He screamed, “Brother, I’m going to avenge your death!” He grabbed his spear and ran toward the crowd of soldiers. By now, the soldiers have already line up in formation. Duan TianDe issued an order and immediately, arrows came flying out towards him. Yang Tiexin did not care, knocking the arrows out of the way and charged ahead. An official swung the sabre in his hand down hard at Yang Tiexin’s head. Yang Tiexin ducked and suddenly scrambled underneath the belly of his ride. That official was just about to turn his horse around when a spear penetrated through his heart from the back. Yang Tiexin threw off the corpse and jumped onto the horse. Waving his spears around, none of the soldiers dared to come closer to battle as they started to run off.

After chasing for a while, he suddenly saw an official running away as fast as he could with a woman in his arms. Yang Tiexin jumped off his horse and knocked down a foot soldier. Picking up the soldier’s bow and arrow, he aimed the best he could in the dim fire light and let loose. The arrow hit the horse’s behind, making the horse kneel down all of a sudden. The two people on the horse came tumbling off. Yang Tiexin let loose another arrow and killed the official. Running up, he saw that the woman who is now trying to sit up on the ground is his wife.

Overwhelmed with surprise and excitement upon seeing her husband, Bao Xiruo jumped into his arms. Yang Tiexin asked, “Where’s our sister-in-law?” Bao Xiruo answered, “Ahead, with… with more soldiers.” Yang Tiexin instructed, “You stay here and wait for me. I’m going to save her.” Bao Xiruo suddenly said in shock, “There are more soldiers coming from behind!”

Yang Tiexin turned around and, as she had said, there really was a group of soldiers coming this way with torches in hand. Yang Tiexin gritted his teeth and said, “Brother is dead. No matter what, I have to save sister-in-law to save the Guo family bloodline. If the heavens pity us, there will be a day when we meet again.” Bao Xiruo put her arms around her husband’s neck and would not let go. She said in between sobs, “We’ll never be apart, you said it yourself, even if we die we will die together! Remember? You said it yourself!” Yang Tiexin’s heart went sour for a moment as he picked up his wife and gave her a kiss. Then despite every part of his heart not wanting to, he shook free of her arms and charged forward with his spear. After charging for 10 steps he turned around and saw that his wife was sobbing in a cloud of dust and the soldiers have already arrived at her side.

Wiping away the sweat, blood, and tears on his face, Yang Tiexin threw his own life out of consideration and thought only about saving Li Ping to make sure that his sworn brother has descendants. After chasing a while, he got another horse. After grilling the official, he found out that Li was just a bit ahead. So he chased as hard as he could on the horse. Suddenly, he heard the cries and screams of a woman coming from the woods by the path. He immediately turned the horse and charged into the woods. Li had already freed her hands from the ropes and was desperately fighting off two foot soldiers. Being born and raised in the farms, she was very strong for a girl; so although she does not know any kungfu, her desperate fighting is quite tough to handle as well. The two foot soldiers were cursing and laughing at her, but still could not quite handle her at the moment. Yang Tiexin did not bother to say anything and just charged up and killed the two with two thrusts. He then helped Li up onto the horse. The two of them rode back together, trying to find his wife. When they got back to the place where they parted ways, nobody was there. By now the sky is getting slightly brighter, so he jumped off the horse to inspect the ground. There were traces of someone being dragged away, his wife was probably captured by the soldiers again.

Yang Tiexin immediately jumped up onto the horse and gave the horse several wild kicks in the stomach. In great pain, the horse shot forward. Just as they were galloping at full speed, suddenly a bugle sounded on the side of the path and 10 or so warriors clad in black charged out. The first one lifted up his wolf-ganged-club and smashed down. Yang Tiexin parried it away with his spear and answered with a thrust. That man replied by a swing of his club sideways. His club techniques were very unique, as if it isn’t a skill from the Central Plains.

When Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian used to discuss kungfu and kungfu techniques, they talked about one of the Heroes of the Water Margins, Thunderclap Fire Qing Ming, who used to be the best in the world in wolf-fanged club techniques. But outside of him, it was very rare to meet someone in the martial world who uses this weapon. This was because the sheer weight of the weapon required that the user had to have enormous upper back strength. However, the Jin army loved to use this weapon. This is because the Jin people lived in the freezing cold climate of LiaoDong, so they were all very strong. When using this weapon in the battlefield, its heaviness gave them a distinctive advantage. Back when the Jins invaded and defeated the Song armies using the wolf-fanged club, in the rage and anger of the peasants and farmers, suddenly a joke went around. Someone, A, said, “What’s so scary about the Jin army? For any one thing they got, we have one thing to counter them.” Another person, B, responded, “They got Akutta.” A replied, “We got Protector Han.” B went on, “They got Crippled Horse.” A replied, “We got Thin Coarse Sabre.”

B said, “They got wolf-fanged club.” To which A replied, “We got the crown of our heads.” Meaning when that wolf-fanged club comes down, the farmers of Song could only meet it with the top of their heads. This joke is actually filled with bitterness and anger.

So now Yang Tiexin has fought several exchanges with this man with the wolf-fanged club. Remembering his discussion with Guo Xiaotian, he became more and more suspicious. From the moves and techniques of this man, it was obvious that he was a Jin army official. What’s he doing here? Several more exchanges passed when he suddenly quickened his spear moves and stabbed the man off his horse. The rest of them turned around and ran in shock.

Yang Tiexin turned around to check up on whether or not Li was hurt in that last fight. Suddenly a sniper arrow was shot out from the woods. It caught Yang Tiexin by surprise and hit him from the back. In utter panic, Li shouted, “Brother Yang, arrow! Arrow!” Yang Tiexin’s heart went cold, “So this is when and where I die! But I have to at least disperse these bastard soldiers before I die, that way Sister-in-Law can get away.” So he waved his spear wildly and charged straight at an area crowded with soldiers. But the pain from the arrow on his back was too much as his eyes went black and he fainted.

Back when her husband pushed her off, Bao Xiruo felt as if her heart had been shredded. In a blink of an eye the soldiers had made it to her side. By the time she tried to run away, she was already tied up and thrown onto a horse. One of the army officials brought a torch up to her face and gave her a good look-over. Nodding, he said, “Hard to believe those two bastards can actually do a thing or two, wounded so many of our men.” Another official smiled and said, “Well, finally we can call it a wrap and a job well done. After all that trouble, I would have to say that everyone deserves at least more than 10 taels of silver each.” The first official replied, “Hmph! Just hope the higher ups don’t take it all for themselves.” Turning around, he instructed the bugler, “Let’s head back!” The bugler brought up his bugle and blew several notes. Bao Xiruo could only sob because all she could think about was her husband and whether or not he’s still alive. By now the sky has brightened up somewhat as people are slowly appearing on the path. Seeing a group of army men, all of the farmers quickly got out of the way as far as they could. At first Bao Xiruo was worried that the soldiers might get ideas about her, but surprisingly, these men actually were polite in their actions and words, so she slowly stopped worrying about it.

After several kilometers, shouts suddenly came from ahead as 10 or so armed men dressed in black came charging in from the side of the path. The leader of the group yelled, “Shameless scums! Killing good innocent people! Come down here at once and get what’s coming to you!” The leading official was furious and shouted back, “Who do you think you scums are, making trouble here in the outskirts of the capital? Get out of the way now!” The gang of men in black did not reply as they charged into the soldiers. Even though there were more soldiers, the men in black were all well versed in kungfu, so neither side seemed to have gained an advantage at this moment.

Bao Xiruo was silently excited as she thought to herself, “Maybe Dear Tie’s friends heard the news and came to rescue us.” In the chaos of battle an arrow came flying in and hit the butt of the horse she was on. Driven by the pain, the horse ran off as fast as it could to the north.

{Here’s something to think about, the first time I read this part I missed it but now I get it, she was obviously not riding in the front of the group of soldiers (because it just doesn’t make sense to put a person that might run away in front of everyone else, that’s like giving them a head start) and the men in black came charging in from the front, yet the arrow that hit her horse had to have came from behind. So doesn’t that seem rather fishy to you guys as well?}

In utter shock, Bao Xiruo grabbed ahold of the horse’s neck with both arms in fear of falling off. Sounds of hoofbeats came as another horse came chasing up from behind. In an instant, a black horse came over her. The man on the horse twirled a lasso in the air a couple of time and skillfully tossed it around her horse’s neck. The two horses galloped side-by-side. The man slowly shortened the lasso and the two horses gradually slowed down. After several more steps, the man whistled and the black horse immediately stopped dead in its tracks. Because of the lasso, Bao Xiruo’s horse could not continue forward and stood up on its hind legs, neighing loudly.

Bao Xiruo has been worn out by the events of the night. In a mixture of sadness and horror, she could no longer hang on to the reins. She fell off the horse and fainted.

After sleeping for what seemed like forever, she slowly woke up. It felt like she was sleeping on a very soft and comfortable bed with a thick cotton quilt over her, she felt warm all over. She opened her eyes and the first thing that she saw was the green colored canopy of the bed, it turns out she really was sleeping on a bed. A lamp was lit on the table by the bed and it seemed like there was a man dressed in black sitting by the bed. Hearing her turn, that man immediately stood up, parted the bed curtains, and quietly asked, “Are you awake?” Bao Xiruo haven’t completely recovered all of her consciousness, all she could tell was that this man was somewhat familiar. That man placed his hand on her forehead and gently said, “Still very hot, don’t worry, the doctor will be here soon.” In a daze, Bao Xiruo slowly fell back asleep.

After a while, it seemed like a doctor was examining her and then someone was feeding her medicine. Yet all she could do was sleep. She snapped out of her dream and screamed, “Dear Tie! Dear Tie!” This was followed by someone patting her softly on the shoulder and gently consoling her.

The next time she woke up was in the middle of the day and she couldn’t help but groan. A person walked up and parted the bed curtains. This time they faced each other, Bao Xiruo saw the face clearly. She was shocked, for this handsome, smiling man in front of her was that very man she saved from certain death in the snow several months ago.

Bao Xiruo asked, “Where am I? Where’s my husband?” That young man shook his hand, telling her not to be loud, and then lightly replied, “The soldiers are looking all over the place outside, right now we are borrowing a room at a farmer’s place. So very sorry, I had to lie and say that I am your husband, please don’t accidentally tell them the truth.” Bao Xiruo blushed and nodded, but she asked again, “Where’s my husband?” That man answered, “Your body is very weak right now. After you get better, then I’ll tell you everything.”

Bao Xiruo was shocked, from his tone of voice, it seemed like something has happened to her husband. She grabbed the corner of her quilt tightly with both hands and asked in a shaking voice, “He… What… What happened to him?” That man only replied, “Worrying will get nothing accomplished now, the most important thing is your health.” Bao Xiruo kept on asking, “Is… Is he dead?” The man’s face showed that he realized he had no choice in the matter as he gently nodded, “Mr. Yang was killed by those bastard soldiers.” He shook his head and sighed. Bao Xiruo felt as if her heart was being stabbed as she fainted. When she came to after a long time, she started to cry her eyes out.

That man gently consoled her. In between sobs, Bao Xiruo asked, “He… How did he died?” That man replied, “Was Mr. Yang a tall, broad-shouldered man around the age of twenty, and uses a spear as a weapon?” Bao Xiruo answered, “Yes, that’s him.” That man answered, “Earlier today I saw him fighting with several soldiers, killing a couple of them. But… ay! But one of the army officials snuck behind him and stabbed him squarely in the back with his spear.”

Bao Xiruo fainted again. She did not drink nor eat for that entire day as she felt obligated to die with her husband. That man didn’t force her either as he just talked to her in a very gentlemanly manner to keep her company. As this continued Bao Xiruo started to feel as if she was neglecting him, so she asked, “What is your name? How did you know that we were in trouble and came to help?” That man replied, “My surname is Yan, given name is Lie. I and some of my friends were just passing by here yesterday when we saw soldiers causing trouble. We didn’t like what we saw so we decided to help. Who knew that I would end up rescuing my savior. It was as if we destined to meet like this.”

Hearing the words “destined to meet”, Bao Xiruo’s face turned a little red as she tried to ignore him by turning to face inward. She thought about all this in her head a bit. Suddenly something suspicious popped up in her mind as she found a hole in his story. She turned and asked, “Were you on the same side as the soldiers?” Yan Lie was shocked, “Wh… What?” Bao Xiruo explained, “Back on that day weren’t you with the soldiers that tried to catch that Taoist Priest? That’s why you were injured right?” Yan Lie answered, “Such bad luck on that day. I came from up north and was heading for Lin’an, passing by your village. Who was to know that an arrow was going to come out of nowhere and hit me on the shoulder. If it wasn’t for your benevolent heart and kindness I would have really died without even knowing why or how. Why were they after that whatever Taoist Priest anyway? Taoist Priests gets catch ghosts, but soldiers catch Taoist Priests, what kind of logic is that?” When he got to here he couldn’t help but laugh a little.

Bao Xiruo observed, “Oh, so you were just passing by and not with them. I thought you were one of those people that was there to catch that Taoist. I really didn’t know whether or not I should have saved you.” She then went on to explain of why the soldiers were there and how Qiu Chuji killed them all.

After talking for a while, Bao Xiruo suddenly noticed that he was staring at her with a trance-like gaze and immediately stopped talking. This snapped Yan Lie out of his trance, he smiled and said, “Sorry. I was just thinking about how we can escape without being caught by the soldiers.”

Bao Xiruo started to cry and replied, “My… My husband is gone now, how can I live on? Why don’t you just escape by yourself and not worry about me?” Yan Lie replied with a straight face, “Madame, your husband was murdered by those bastard soldiers, his death has not been revenged for. Yet you are not trying to bring the culprits to justice and is only seeking death. Your husband was a hero among men when he was alive, I’m afraid he won’t rest in peace when he finds out about this in the netherworld.”

Bao Xiruo replied, “I’m only a weak female, how can I possibly avenge his death?” In anger, Yan Lie replied, “Madame’s burden, I will gladly take upon my shoulders. Do you know who the culprit is?” Bao Xiruo thought for a bit and answered, “The leader of the soldier’s name is Duan TianDe. He has a knife scar on his forehead and a birthmark on his face.” Yan Lie replied, “With a name and a way of recognizing him, no matter how far away he runs off to, we have to bring him to justice!” He went outside and came back with a bowl of porridge with some salted eggs. He spoke up, “If you don’t take care of your health, how can you get your revenge?” Bao Xiruo thought what he said made some sense, so she took over the bowl and started to slowly eat its contents.

The next morning, Bao Xiruo arranged her cloth and got off of bed. She brushed her hair properly against a mirror, found a piece of white cloth and placed a white flower in her hair to pay respects to her husband. What she saw in the mirror was a beautiful woman in the prime of her life, yet her husband had already left her behind. Overwhelmed by sadness and loneliness, she put her head down and started crying. Yan Lie walked in and saw her. He said softly, “The soldiers are gone now, let’s go.” Bao Xiruo followed him out. Yan Lie gave a bit of silver to the master of the house and then led the two horses over. The horse that Bao Xiruo had ridden on was hit by an arrow, but Yan Lie had taken care of the wound.

Bao Xiruo asked, “Where do we go to now?” Yan Lie gave her a look, signaling her not to talk so much in front of others. He helped her onto the horse and the two of them rode side by side northward. After riding for over ten kilometers, Bao Xiruo asked again, “Where do we go to now?” Yan Li replied, “Let’s find a place where we can settle down for a while and wait out this storm. After the soldiers stop looking for us and let their guards down, then I’ll go and find your husband’s body so we can give him a proper burial. After that I’m going to find that bastard Duan TianDe and kill him.”

Bao Xiruo has a very tender and selfless personality, rarely does she come up with ideas of her own. Besides, right now she’s all by herself in the world, seeing that he has it all figured out, she could not help but be touched. She said, “Mr. Yan, how… how will I ever be able to repay you?” Yan Lie confidently replied, “Madame, this life of mine was saved by you. So even if I have to jump into boiling oil or be smashed into dust, I would serve you for the rest of my life.” Bao Xiruo replied, “I only hope that we can avenge my husband’s death and kill that evil Duan TianDe as soon as possible so I can join him on the other side.” When she thought to here, tears started to roll out of her eyes again. The two of them rode for the rest of the day and then stopped at a little hotel in ChangAn for the night. Yan Lie put the two down as a couple and got one room. Bao Xiruo could not help but feel that there is something wrong about this. So she did not utter a word during dinner as she secretly touched that dagger that Qiu Chuji gave her to make sure it’s there. She made up her mind, “If he gets the slightest bit of ideas, I would kill myself right there on the spot.”

Yan Lie instructed the floor manager to bring him two bundles of straws into the room. He waited until the floor manager left before locking the door up and laying out the straws on the floor. He lied down on the straws and covered himself with a felt blanket. He turned to Bao Xiruo, “Goodnight Madame.” And then he closed his eyes.

Bao Xiruo’s heart was beating a mile a minute. Remembering her dead husband, she felt all torn up inside. She blankly sat there for over an hour before finally sighing and blowing out the candle. Still clutching the dagger tightly, she climbed into the bed with her cloths on.

When Bao Xiruo woke up the next day, Yan Lie had already packed and readied everything, not to mention instructing the floor manager to get some breakfast ready. Bao Xiruo was very thankful for his gentlemanly actions and let most of her guard down. By the time she ate breakfast, she noticed that it was a dish of chicken fried noodles, a dish of ham, a dish of sausages, a dish of smoked fish, and a small pot of deliciously smelling rice and stalk gruel. She was raised in a moderately well off family, even after marrying into the Yang family, she had always had a life of normal farmer. Usually, breakfast for her is a couple of salted vegetables and half a salted egg. Other than New Years and weddings, she had never eaten such delicacies. So she felt quite uncomfortable during all of breakfast.

Once she finished eating, the floor manager came in with a bundle. By now Yan Lie had left their room. Bao Xiruo asked, “What is this?” The floor manager replied, “Mister went out as soon as the sun rose and bought a change of clothing for Madame. He told me to ask you to change into it.” Once he finished he put down the bundle and left. Bao Xiruo opened the bundle and was shocked. It was a completely white mourning dress made out of silver with matching white socks, shoes, inner garments, and jacket, as well as matching scarf, bandanas, and other accessories. She thought, “So hard for a young man like him to think of everything.” When she changed into the clothing, the thought that Yan Lie bought these himself made her blush. She had left the house in a hurry in the middle of the night, so her clothing was not very neat to begin with, then after a whole night of misadventures, she was covered in dirt and sweat. Now that she had brushed up somewhat, her spirit picked up somewhat as well. When Yan Lie returned, she noticed he had changed into colorful and expensive attires as well.

The two of them got on the way again. Sometimes one of them rode in front while the other one followed, other times they rode side-by-side. The season of Spring was in its full glory south of the the Yangtze, willows brushed people’s shoulder on the road, flower fragrances filling the air and people’s hearts, and plants were starting to sprout in the farms.

In order to distract her thoughts and lessen her troubles, Yan Lie kept on talking to her about varies random subjects. Bao Xiruo’s father was an unaccomplished scholar in a little village, her husband and his sworn brother were both straightforward and unrefined men. So she had never met someone as refined, gentlemanly, and knowledgeable as him. When they talk she felt that every word, every sentence that he said was greatly intelligent and thought-provoking, she could not help but secretly look at him in wonder. However, they kept on heading north and getting further and further away from Lin’an, not only did he never once mentioned about revenge, he did not even bring up the subject of a proper burial for her husband. Finally, she could not keep it in anymore and asked, “Mr. Yan, what are your plans regarding my husband’s body?”

Yan Lie relied, “It’s not that I don’t want to search for your husband’s body and give him a proper burial but I killed government officials when I rescued Madame, so right now it is very dangerous for me there. As soon as I show myself around LinAh, I would no doubt be killed by soldiers. Besides, right now the soldiers are all over the place looking for Madame. After all, your husband did commit treason by killing officials, this is a huge crime. If his relatives are captured, men are executed and women are made into prostitutes for the soldiers. Dying for me is no big deal, but if nobody was around to protect Madame and the soldiers catch you, I could not bear and think of the consequences. Even in the nether world, I would be saddened beyond my own imagination.” Seeing how honest and sincere he looked, Bao Xiruo nodded. Yan Lie continued, “I have thought this over thoroughly, the most important thing right now is to give you husband a proper burial. So we are going to JiaXing, then I can take out some money and get someone to take care of it at Lin’an. If Madame has to do it by herself, then let me settle you down in JiaXing and take the risk by myself.” Bao Xiruo felt she was asking a bit too much to ask him to take such a big risk for her and replied, “If Mister can find someone reliable to take care of the whole matter, then that would be for the best.” She continued, “My husband had a sworn brother with the surname of Guo, he died with my husband. I am sorry to trouble you by asking you to try to give him a proper burial as well. I… I….” She started crying.

Yan Lie replied, “It’s no trouble at all, just leave it all to me. As for revenge, that bastard Duan TianDe is a government official, so killing him is not easy. Besides, he is extra careful right now, all we can do is patiently wait for our chance.” Bao Xiruo only wanted to kill him to avenge her husband and then follow him into the nether world. Even though Yan Lie’s every word was true, she didn’t know how long she would have to wait for this to happen. In a moment of impatience, she started to sob loudly. In between sobs, she replied, “I really don’t know about revenge. Even a hero like my husband could not defeat him. I… I’m just a weak woman, what… what can I do? Just let me die and join my husband and that’ll be that.”

Feeling that the situation was truly difficult, Yan Lie thought for a long while before finally saying, “Madame, do you trust me?” Bao Xiruo nodded. Yan Lie continued, “The only thing we can do now is to head up north to avoid the soldiers. The Song officials can’t chase us if we are up north. So as soon as we cross the Yangtze, we should be out of danger. We’ll wait until things have cooled down before returning down south and avenge your husband. Madame, please rest assured. I will take care of this whole matter of justice for your husband.”

Bao Xiruo hesitated, “I am homeless without any relatives in the world, if I don’t follow him, where can a woman like myself settle down in this world? The faces of the soldiers that night were beastly, if I had fallen into their hands, I would definitely suffer a fate worse than death itself. Yet this man is not a friend nor a relative, should a widow like me be traveling together with a young man like him? If I tried to kill myself right now, he would without a doubt stop me.” She felt lost, the only thing she was sure of is that the future will be difficult. Thinking forward and looking back like this, she felt as if her intestines were being twisted. For several days straight now she had shed tears and now it seems as if she has ran out of tears to shed.

Yan Lie spoke up, “If Madame feels that any part of my plan is bad, then please tell me. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” Seeing how accommodating he is, Bao Xiruo actually felt a little bad about hesitating. Other than committing suicide, she really could not find another way out. Having no other choice, she lowered her head and replied, “Why don’t you take care of it.”

Yan Lie could not be happier, “I will forever be grateful that Madame saved my life. Madame….” Bao Xiruo interrupted him, “You don’t have to mention that matter ever again.” Yan Lie replied, “Yes, yes of course.”

That night, the two of them stopped at an inn in the town of XiaShi, still only getting one room. Ever since Bao Xiruo agreed to go up north with him, Yan Lie’s actions have not been as gentlemanly and proper as before, for once in a while, his excitement would get out of hand. Bao Xiruo felt an indistinct notion that something might not be appropriate. But seeing that he had not shown even the slightest trace of getting any ideas, she figured that he must be a little too excited about being able to fully show his gratitude.

The two of them reached JiaXin at noon the next day. JiaXin is a big city in the western parts of ZheJiang. Since this was the place where many trade routes come together, it had always been a very prosperous place. When the Song dynasty moved south, JiaXin had also become much closer to the capital, thus becoming even more prosperous and bustling.

Yan Lie suggested, “Let’s find an inn and rest up for a bit.” Bao Xiruo was worried about soldiers finding them and said, “It’s still early, we can still cover some ground.” Yan Lie replied, “The stores here aren’t half bad. Madame’s clothing is old and worn, have to buy some new ones.” This surprised Bao Xiruo as she took a moment to recover and replied, “Didn’t you just buy this yesterday? How is it already old and worn?” Yan Lie answered, “There were alot of dust on the way, after wearing the same clothes for a couple of days it is no longer colorful anymore. Besides, as beautiful as Madame is, how can Madame possibly not wear the best clothing in the world?”

Hearing him praising her beauty, Bao Xiruo was secretly happy inside, but she lowered her head and said, “I am in the middle of paying my respects….” Yan Lie immediately cut her off, “Yes, of course. I understand.” Bao X