yan Kang replied, “ Don’t go. The people in this manor are highly skilled it’s no point to risk youself and get caught.”

Mu Nianci replied, “ Then, I’ll carry you out.”

Wanyan Kang laughed, “ You give me a kiss.”

Mu Nianci moved away and said, “ I’m so worried and you still can joke.”

Wanyan Kang laughed cheekily, “ Who’s joking? I’m serious.”

Mu Nianci ignored him and tried to think of a plan. Wanyan Kang asked, “ How did you know I’m here?”

Mu Nianci answered, “ I followed you.”

Wanyan Kang was touched and said, “ You lean on me, I’ll tell you something.” Mu Nianci sat on the ground and leaned into his arms.

Wanyan Kang said, “ I am the Jin ambassador so I don’t think they will dare do anything to me. But if I stay here any longer, it will affect father’s plans. What shall we do? Sister, help me with something.”

Mu Nianci asked, “ What is it?”

Wanyang Kang answered, “ Take off that golden seal hung on my neck.”

Mu Nianci stretched out her hand and took off the golden seal.

Wanyan Kang continued, “ This is the seal of the Jin ambassador, take it to Lin An manor and seek assistance from Prime Minister Shi of the Song Dynasty.”

Mu Nianci asked, “ Prime Minister Shi? Would he see a commoner like me?”

Wanyan Kang laughed, “ When he sees this golden seal, he’ll welcome you. Tell him that I’ve been captured by the pirates of Lake Tai and cannot see him personally. But you must remember one thing, if the Mongolian ambassador is there, make sure that you avoid letting him and the prime minister meet at all costs. This is the secret mission ordered by the Jin emperor, you must fulfill it.”

Mu Nianci asked, “ Why?”

Wanyan Kang answered, “ These are army matters, you wont understand. You will be doing me a great favor by telling Prime Minister Shi what I just I asked you to. If the Mongolian ambassador reaches Lin An first and meets with the Song Officials, it will put us Jins in a very unfavorable position.”

Mu Nianci replied indignantly, “ What? Us Jins? I am a citizen of the Song Dynasty. If you don’t explain clearly to me, I’m not going to help you with this mission.”

Wanyan Kang smiled faintly, “ Aren’t you going to be the concubine of the Jins in the future?”

Mu Nianci stood up angrily and said, “ My god father is your real father, you are in fact a Han. So you still want to be your Jin Prince? I know…know you…”

Wanyan Kang answered, “ What?”

Mu Nianci answered, “ I always thought that you were a strong, smart and upright man. I thought you were pretending to be the Jin Prince for a while so as to help Great Song. But yet, you…you really want to acknowledge the enemy as your father?”

Wanyan Kang heard her tone change to a furious one, she was choking with anger and could not speak for a moment.

Mu Nianci continued, “ Great Song has lost half of our empire to the Jins and so many Hans have been tortured and slaughtered by them. Doesn’t that bother you at all? You…you…” She stopped here and could not go on. Following that, she threw the golden seal on the floor and was about to leave when Wanyan Kang called out, “ Sister, I’m wrong, come back.”

Mu Nianci stopped and turned, “ What?”

Wanyan Kang said, “ When I am freed of the burdens of the Jin ambassador, I wont go back to the Jins anymore alright? I will live a carefree and simple life with you, which is much better than having to suffer in silence like now.”

Mu Nianci sighed and was silent. Ever since she sparred with Wanyan Kang, she fell for him deeply and had viewed him as an upright and just hero. She thought that there must be some reason that Wanyan Kang did not want to acknowledge his real father; when he became the Jin ambassador, she thought of an excuse for him that he was secretly spying for the Songs and help crush the enemy for the Songs. Who would have guessed that it was all wishful thinking on her part; Wanyan Kang was nothing more than a greedy and shameful traitor. She was heartbroken and felt dejected.

Wanyan Kang asked in a low voice, “ Sister, what’s wrong?”

Mu Nianci did not reply.

Wanyan Kang asked, “ My mother told me that your god father is my real father. I did not have a chance to clarify when they both died. I have been really confused all along. My birthrights and origins cannot just simply be haphazardly defined right?”

Mu Nianci was secretly comforted and thought to herself, “ So he is not clear about his birthrights. He cannot really be blamed then.” She said out loud, “ Don’t mention anything about bringing the golden seal to Prime Minister Shi anymore. I will find Sister Huang and ask her for the dagger to save you.”

Huang Rong had actually thought of returning the dagger to Mu Nianci but when she heard what Wanyan Kang said about aiding the Jins, she was fuming and thought, “ Father hates the Jins, let him stay here for a couple more days then.”

Wanyan Kang continued, “ The pathways in this manor are bizarre, how did you find your way through?”

Mu Nianci replied, “ Luckily there were two masters secretly directing me thought I don’t know who they are and they do not want to reveal themselves.”

Wanyan Kang sighed deeply, “ Sister, I’m afraid that you’ll be discovered the next time you come here. If you want to save me, then help me find a person.”

Mu Nianci replied angrily, “ I’m not going to find any Prime Minister for you.”

Wanyan Kang replied, “ Not Prime Minister, but help me look for my teacher.”

Mu Nianci replied, “ Ah!”

Wanyan Kang continued, “ Take my belt with you and use a knife to carve ‘Wanyan Kang is in danger at Gui Yun Manor located at the west bank of Lake Tai’ on the gold buckle. Following that, go to Suzhou and travel thirty miles north to a deserted hill. Find nine human skulls and stack them together into a pyramid, with five skulls at the base, followed by three in the middle and one on top. Lastly, place the belt under the top skull.”

Mu Nianci was puzzled and asked, “ Why?”

Wanyan Kang replied, “ My teacher is blind but when she finds the belt and feels the carvings, she will come and save me. Therefore, you must carve the words deep.”

Mu Nianci asked, “ Isn’t your teacher Master of Eternal Spring, Taoist Qiu?” How can he be blind?”

Wanyan Kang answered, “ No, it’s not Taoist Qiu, it’s my other teacher. After you place the belt, you must leave immediately. My teacher has a weird temper, if she finds someone near the skulls, she might harm you. She is highly skilled and can save me. You just have to wait for me in front of the Xuan Miao monastery in Suzhou. ”

Mu Nianci said, “ You have to swear that you will not acknowledge the enemy as your father and betray your people.”

Wanyan Kang refused and replied, “ After I find out the truth about everything, I will then act accordingly to my morals. What use is it to force me to swear now? If you are not willing to save me, then so be it.”

Mu Nianci replied, “ Alright! I’ll help you seek help.” With that, she removed Wanyan Kang’s belt.

Wanyan Kang asked, “ Sister, are you leaving? Come over and let me kiss you.”

Mu Nianci replied, “ No!” With that, she stood up and headed for the door.

Wanyan Kang said, “ I’m afraid that they might kill me before my teacher reaches and then I’ll never get to see you again.”

Mu Nianci’s heart soften, she gave a long sigh and walked back into his arms, allowing him to kiss her on the cheek a few times.

She suddenly beat the chains and said, “ If you do not walk the right path in the future, I cannot do anything but blame myself for my ill fate and die in front of you.”

Wanyan Kang wanted to cuddle and sweet-talk with her a while, half hoping that she would change her mind and agree to take the golden seal to Prime Minister Shi but he felt her body shaking and her breathing was hard, signaling that she was worked up. He did not expect her to say anything like that and was in shock for a moment but Mu Nianci had already stood up and walked out of the door.

After she came out, Huang Rong again guided her and Mu Nianci ran till she saw a wall leading to the outskirts of the manor. Before she left, she called out softly, “ Since senior does not want to show himself or herself, junior here will just have to look into the sky and express my gratitude.”

With that, she kneeled on the ground and kowtowed three times. She heard a gentle giggle and a clear voice spoke out, “ Ah, I cannot accept this!”

When she raised her head, she only saw stars in the sky and the surroundings were deserted. Mu Nianci was puzzled and thought that the voice sounded like Huang Rong’s but how can she be here and how would she know the way through this confusing place? She pondered on this matter as she walked on but was not able to come up with an explanation. After walking about ten miles from the manor, she decided to rest under a large tree and wait for the boat to bring her to Suzhou the next day.

Suzhou is a busy Southeast district and although it isnt’t comparable to the capital of Hangzhou, it is still a prosperous and booming city. The Song officials in the South were also given rule over the territory of Jiangnan, and had almost forgotten about the sufferings of the people under the Jins in the North since the cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou were rich and prosperous. There was a saying ‘Heaven above, Su Hang below’ indicating the importance and grandeur of these two cities. Actually, the River Huai is the source of wealth and also a symbol of beauty for these two cities in the south. Mu Nianci admired the colorful scenes in the city before settling down in an inn. She then started to carefully carve the words Wanyan kang told her to do so on his belt. She thought how recent the belt had left its owner and prayed for Wanyan kang’s safety, hoping that the belt will return back to its owner once more. She secretly wished that Wanyan Kang would come to his senses and marry her and that she would personally wear the belt for him.

After dreaming awhile, she wore the belt beneath her robe and couldn’t help thinking, “ This belt is like his arm, wrapping around my waist.” She immediately blushed and didn’t dare think more. After eating a quick bowl of noodles, she saw the sun heading to the west and she hurriedly travel towards the north, following Wanyan Kang’s instructions to find his teacher.

The road to the hill was deserted, Mu Nianci felt uneasy when she heard weird sounds made by the birds and the sun had started to set. She left the main path and went to the back valley of the hill to search for the skulls, which Wanyan Kang had asked her to search for, but it had slowly turned to nightfall and she was still unable to find them. She mulled over the matter and decided to continue the search the next day. With that, she went nearby to see if there was any place in which she could seek shelter for the night. She ran up a mound and looked out in the distance; it was then that she spotted a manor towards the west. She was relieved and immediately rushed there.

As she approached the place, she realised that the manor was actually a run downed temple and there was a signboard above the door, which read ‘Temple Earth’. She pushed open the door gently and the door gave a creak before dropping down, fluffing up a pile of dust. It was then that Mu Nianci realized that it was an abandoned temple where no one lived in. She walked into the hall and saw cobwebs on the statutes of mother and father earth. She pressed on a table and gave a blow but found that the table was still steady and did not break. Thus, she found some hay to clean the table and went on to place the broken door back into position. She ate some dried snacks before lying on the table and slept with her bag as her pillow. She could not help but feel heartbroken and ashamed when she thought about Wanyan Kang’s personality and tears rowed down her cheeks. But when she thought about his gentleness and honey words, she felt a tint of sweetness in her heart. She thought about many things and tossed a million times before she finally able to fall asleep.

In the middle of the night, Mu Nianci heard a funny noise; she was alarmed and sat upright as the noise grew louder. She hurried to the door and peered out. It was then that she got a shock of her life as the moonlight shone onto the ground, revealing thousands of snakes gliding throughout the floor; a stench came in from the main door. After a long while, the snakes began to lessen when she suddenly heard some footsteps as three men in white appeared with long poles in their hands, subsiding the snakes. Mu Nianci was afraid that she would be discovered and hid behind the hall door, not daring to look anymore. She heard a few footsteps and peered out again. The snakes were gone and the surrounding was quiet and deserted; she thought was dreaming, as she couldn’t believe what she just saw.

She pushed open the main door gently and peered out. She walked a little towards the direction, which the snakes had gone but could not find those men in white. She was somewhat relieved and was about to return to the temple when she saw the moonlight revealing a weird pile of white stuff from afar. She went closer for a look and let out a low gasp; it was a pile of skulls neatly arranged in the form of a pyramid, with five skulls as the base, three in the middle and one on top. Mu Nianci had been searching for these skulls the whole day and who would have thought that it would suddenly appear in front of her in the middle of the night? She thought the skull formation scary but her heart beat fast as she was happy. She approached the skulls slowly and took out Wanyan Kang’s belt. With hands shivering, she stretched out to take the skull stacked on top. She touched the skull and felt five holes on it, which fitted her five fingers; it was as if the skull had formed mouths, which swallowed her fingers. Mu Nianci was astonished and screamed before turning about to run. She had run awhile when she stopped again and realised that she was just scaring herself. She giggled nervously and went back to put the belt on top of the three skulls before placing the skull in her hands back onto the top of the formation.

She thought to herself, “ His teacher is really weird, I wonder whether she looks frightening as well.” After placing the skull back into place, she secretly hoped to herself, “ I hope that teacher will get the belt and immediately go and save him. I hope that you will teach him proper so that he kick his bad habits and change his ways.”

She was thinking about the chained up but handsome sweet-talker Wanyan Kang when she felt someone gently patting her shoulder. She was shocked and did not dare turn around. Due to her nervousness, she accidentally fell onto the pile of skulls. Mu Nianci used her arms to clench her chest and turned around. She had just turned around when someone patted her shoulder gently again.

She turned around about six more times but still could not spot the person behind her, she didn’t know whether it was ghost or a demon. Mu Nianci broke out in cold sweat and did not dare move. Quivering, she asked, “ Who are you?”

The person placed his head near her neck and sniffed before laughing out, “ What a nice scent! Guess who am I.”

Mu Niaci hurriedly turned around and saw a scholarly dressed man, a fan in his hand with a charming expression: It was one of the culprits who had forced her godfather to death back in Beijing, Ouyang Ke. She was both surprised and angry and since she knew that she was not his match, she turned to run. Ouyang Ke was however, already in front of her, laughing out aloud with arms stretched out, ready to hug her if she took a few more steps forward. Mu Nianci hurriedly retreated a few steps and ran to her right, but had only ran a few steps when Ouyang Ke was in front of her again. She ran in all directions but still could not escape him.

Ouyang Ke saw the pale colour on her beautiful face and was delighted. He knew that he could capture her in one move but he wanted to play the cat and mouse game with her, trapping her but letting her off again. Mu Nianci knew that she was in danger and pulled out a green dagger, aiming for his head.

Ouyang Ke laughed and said, “ Aiyah, don’t be rough.”

He twisted his body, grabbed her arms with his left hand while holding her waist with his right arm. Mu Nianci struggled but felt numb at her throat and her dagger was already snatched away by Ouyang Ke. She managed to free herself after awhile, only to be captured into his arms again. This was like the time Ouyang Ke held Huang Rong at Wanyan Kang’s residence; his opponent’s pulse froze the hand movement and could not move at all.

Ouyang Ke laughed lightly and said, “ Accept me as your teacher and I’ll immediately release you and teach you this stance. But I’m afraid that by that time, you won’t want me to let go of you already.”

Mu Nianci was trapped by his arms and Ouyang Ke used his right hand to gently brush against her cheeks. She knew that he was up to no good and was so frightened that she passed out unknowingly. After awhile, Mu Nianci woke up but she felt numb and weak all over. Someone was hugging her tightly and in the confusion, she thought it was Wanyan Kang and was delighted but after she opened her eyes, she realized that the person hugging her was Ouyang Ke. She was bashful and nervous and struggled to stand up only to realize that her could not move. She opened her mouth to call out but realized that Ouyang Ke had staffed a handkerchief in her mouth. She saw him sitting on the ground but he wore an anxious expression. On both sides of Ouyang Ke were eight women in white who each had a weapon in their hands, all of them staring suspiciously but silently at the pile of skulls.

Mu Nianci was curious and tried thinking what they were up to. When she turned around, she was scared out of her wits as she saw thousands of green snakes behind Ouyang Ke. The snakes were motionless but were hissing with their tongues out; the moonlight shone on the thousands of red tongues, which looked like a sea of red tongues; it was a frightening sight. Amongst the snakes stood three men in white with long poles in their hands; it was the exact same men Mu Nianci had seen earlier. She didn’t dare look anymore and turned back. It was then that she saw the shiny gold belt amongst the nine skulls and thought anxiously, “ Ah, they must be waiting for his teacher. From their expressions, they must have prepared to deal with his teacher. But his teacher is traveling alone, then how can he defeat so many people? And there are so many poisonous snakes around as well.”

She was extremely anxious and hoped that Wanyan Kang’s teacher won’t come. But she also hoped that his teacher would know what to expect and come prepared, defeating all these evil people and save her. After waiting for more than half an hour, the moon rose even higher and she saw Ouyang Ke constantly looking up at the moon. She thought to herself, “ Will his teacher only appear when the moon shifts to the middle of the sky?”

She saw the moon rise above the top of a tree. The surroundings were empty, the wild worms were making noises and there were sounds of birdcalls in the distance. Ouyang Ke glanced at the moon once more before placing Mu Nianci into the arms of a woman beside him. He took out his fan with his right hand and stared on the corner of the hill. Mu Nianci knew that the person they were waiting for was coming soon. The silence was soon broken by a strong and piercing flute tune, which grew nearer after awhile. A figure flashed by and a woman with long hair suddenly appeared from the cliff. As she passed by the cliff, she slowed down and it seemed like she had noticed that there were people nearby. It was iron corpse, Mei Chaofeng.

After Mei Chaofeng had gotten the a few verses of the secret formulas for the cultivation of her internal energy, she studied them carefully and it was not more than a month before her legs recovered and she could work normally. Furthermore, her internal energy had improved tremendously. Ever since she found out that the Six Freaks of Jiangnan had returned from Mongolia, she had started to plot for revenge, following the little prince as he set out for his mission. She practiced her skills every night. Mei Chaofeng found riding the boats with many people inconvenient and thus decided to travel by herself every night, and had arranged to meet Wanyan Kang in Suzhou. She did not know that Wanyan Kang was in the hands of the Heroes of Lake Tai nor was she aware that Ouyang Ke who wanted to take revenge on her for killing his men and humiliating him earlier, as well as to lay hands on her “Nine Yin Manual” had earlier spied on and found out her whereabouts, and had thus got together thousands of snakes and is now secretly waiting for her at the spot she practices her skills every night. She had just passed the cliff when she heard the breathing of several people and stopped in her tracks immediately to listen. She heard tons of weird noises behind the group of people.

Ouyang Ke saw her alarmed expression and cursed secretly, “ What a brilliant blind bitch!” Fanning himself gently, he stood up and summoned his internal energy. He was about to strike out at Mei Chaofeng when he saw another person coming from the cliff. He hurriedly took back his strike and studied that person. He saw that the man was slim and tall; he was wearing a green robe and part of his hair was bound with a squared cloth. He looked like any cultured person but Ouyang Ke was unable to see his face clearly.

The amazing thing however, was that Ouyang Ke was unable to hear any footsteps or breathing coming from that man. Even a highly skilled person like Mei Chaofeng would inevitably make some light noises when she walked but this person was walking casually, as if his body were floating, forming a somewhat ghostly image. It seemed as if nothing could cause him to make any noise while moving. That person glanced at Ouyang Ke before standing behind Mei Chaofeng. Ouyang Ke studied his face in detail and gasped unexpectedly. That person had a very weird face, besides a pair of eyes glancing around, the rest of his face was like a dead person’s. The skin of his face was stiff, it was not ugly but neither was it charming. The man looked extremely cold and emotionless and gave one the chills. Ouyang Ke gained back his senses and saw that Mei Chaofeng was approaching him. He knew that her strikes were going to be vicious and deadly and thought that he had to gain the upper hand first. He made a signal with his left hand and the three men controlling the snakes started blowing their flutes, causing the snakes to glide forward. The eight women in white sat still as they had applied some substance on them, which caused the snakes to ignore and slide pass them.

Mei Chaofeng heard the sounds of snakes approaching and knew there were countless numbers of them. She was secretly alarmed and kicked back some distance. The snake men used their poles to cause the thousands of snakes to disperse into all directions. Mu Nianci saw that Mei Chaofeng’s expression had paled as she was frightened and could not help but worry for her. She thought, “ Is this weird woman his teacher?”

She saw Mei Chaofeng suddenly turn around and retrieve a long silver whip from her waist to protect herself. She was however surrounded by the poisonous snakes from all directions and several snakes, which were excited by the flute tune started to attack her, only to be stroked by her whip.

Ouyang Ke yelled out, “ Hey demoness Mei, I don’t want your life, you just have to hand me the “Nine Yin Manual” and I’ll let you off.”

That day when he was at Prince Zhao’s residence, he heard that the “Nine Yin Manual” was in Mei Chaofeng’s hands and being greedy as he was, he was very much tempted to get it at any cost. It would definitely make his uncle, who has been trying all means to get the manual, very happy. Mei chaofeng ignored Ouyang Ke and used her whip to strike out even more furiously.

Ouyang Ke called out, “ Since you’re so stubborn, I’ll see how long more you can dance. I’ll wait till tomorrow and lets see whether you will hand the manual over to me or not.”

Mei Chaofeng was secretly anxious and tried thinking of a plan to escape. She listened carefully and realized that there were snakes surrounding her everywhere. She didn’t dare move much and she was afraid that the poisonous snakes would bite her if she stepped on them.

Ouyang Ke sat down and after awhile, called out arrogantly, “ Big sister Mei, you stole the manual and have been familiarizing yourself with the contents for the past twenty years. What use is it to hug it to your deathbed? Why not you lend it to me for a look, let’s be friends, isn’t it better that way?”

Mei Chaofeng replied, “ Take away the snakes first.”

Ouyang Ke laughed, “ Hand me the manual first.”

The contents of the “Nine Yin Manual” was tattooed on her late husband’s skin and Mei Chaofeng valued it more than her life and of course was unwilling to hand it over. She decided that it she was bitten by the snakes, she would immediately tear the manual to pieces.

Mu Nianci wanted to shout and tell her to jump onto the tree so that the snakes would not be able to bite her but she could not do so as a cloth bound her mouth. Mei Chaofeng was not aware of the few tall trees near her. She realized that if she continued fighting, her internal energy would deplete and thus pulled out something from her pockets and shouted, “ Alright, I give in, take it.”

Ouyang Ke called out, “ Throw it over her.”

Mei Chaofeng called out, “ Catch!” And flung something from her right hand.

Mu Nianci heard a few faint cries and saw two women in white collapse. Ouyang Ke had fallen onto the ground but managed to avoid her deadly secret weapons. He broke out in cold sweat and was shocked and angry at the same time. He retreated back a few steps and yelled, “ Alright Bi*ch, I’ll let you suffer horribly!”

Mei Chaofeng had shot out three “Shapeless Needles” which traveled as fast as lightening. She was secretly impressed with Ouyang Ke’s ability to escape her attacks but was all the more anxious. Ouyang Ke studied her arms and plotted to set the snakes on her once she relaxed a little. At this time, Mei Chaofeng had already killed hundreds of snakes, but there were thousands more surrounding her. How would she be able to kill all of them? Ouyang Ke saw that her whip skills were excellent and knew that she had secret weapons and thus did not dare to go near her.

After half an hour, the moon was moving towards the west and Mei Chaofeng was beginning to feel more and more anxious such that her breathing became harder and her whipping dance was not as smooth as earlier. She thus struck out at a shorter distance so as to preserve her energy. Ouyang Ke was delighted and commanded the snakes to move nearer and nearer her. But he was also afraid that if she was still unwilling to surrender and destroyed the book, it would ruin his plans. This point in time now was thus crucial to him. Mei Chaofeng heard the snakes moving closer and closer towards her and could not help but feel the manual in her pocket. She looked very pale and curse silently, “ I haven’t seek my revenge yet but who would have thought that I would die under the hands of this bloody rascal.”

All of a sudden, there came a noise which sounded like the tune from a qin, but it also sounded like the sounds made by jade. Following that, there was the sound of a clear and smooth flute tune. Everyone was taken by surprise. Ouyang Ke looked up and saw the weird man in green sitting on top of a tall tree, blowing his flute. Ouyang Ke was secretly puzzled. He knew that he had very sharp eyesight and yet, even under such a bright moonlight, he did not notice that that man had gone up the tree. The wind was blowing and the trees were swaying but that man was still able to sit steadily and motionless on top. Ouyang Ke was taught by his uncle since he was young and he knew that even if he trained for another twenty years, he will still be unable to achieve the standard the man has now, is that man a ghost then?

At this time, the tune from the flute flowed continuously and Ouyang Ke lost control of his emotions, smiling unnaturally. He felt his blood pounding and messing up inside him and had to dance crazily in order to feel better. He just stretched out his arm to dance and was immediately shocked. He summoned all his concentration and saw that the snakes were all rushing to the bottom of a tree, sliding about according to the flute tune. The three men and six women in white collapsed under the tree as well dancing around crazily. They tore their clothes and scratched their faces furiously leaving bloody scars on them and laughed stupidly at nothing. It seemed like they had all gone mad and were thus unaware of any pain.

Ouyang Ke was extremely shocked and knew that he had encountered a strong opponent tonight. He took out six poisoned projectiles and flung it towards the man’s head, chest and limbs. The projectiles were about to strike the man when he gently waved the end of his flute and blocked the projectiles. When he used his flute to block the projectiles, his lips continued to blow and did not leave the flute hole for a single moment. The tune coming out from the flute was never interrupted for a single second. Ouyang Ke could not stand it anymore and opened his fan, wanting to dance.

Luckily Ouyang Ke had a somewhat good grasp of his internal energy, as he knew that if he started dancing with his arms, unless his opponent stopped blowing the flute, he would not stop dancing till he dies of exhaustion. Ouyang Ke was all along a clear-minded and sharp man and forced himself to take back his arm with the fan in it. He suddenly thought of a plan, “ Tear some cloth off my robe and stuff the cloth in my ears so as to