ir little brothers and their little swine. My heart was filled with unspeakable fear. My bandit nickname was the ‘Golden Abacus’, because I always carry with me an abacus forged from gold. Hidden within was a secret spring mechanism which would shoot out seventy seven abacus beads when the mechanism was activated. But the abacus on the table was an ordinary one made from mahogany. The bamboo cross-pieces of the abacus had been broken into countless pieces; clearly, he had used his internal energy to shatter the bamboo cross-pieces, then used his internal energy to agitate the beads and shoot them out. This display of martial arts prowess really was goddamn incredible.”

“The more the man and the woman spoke, the happier their voices became. I, on the other hand, grew steadily more afraid. I committed over thirty bloody murders in this house, and now I was stuck here, unable to move, unable to speak. It would be alright if I had to pay with my own life for my murders. But if I were found here, I would be implicating brother Ke as well. The four hours that I spent there were more agonizing than that of ten or twenty years of torture. It wasn’t until the chickens began to crow that the man laughed and said, ‘Wife, it looks like we won’t be able to figure out the next few steps tonight. Let’s go!’ The woman said, ‘This ‘Golden Abacus’, Master Cui, helped you to come up with such a miraculous solution. We should give him some sort of reward!’ I was startled once more. So they had known my identity all along. The man said, ‘Since this is the case, let’s let him live a few more years. We’ll take his life the next time we meet him! He dared to insult you and insult me. We can’t just pretend that didn’t happen.’ As he spoke, he picked up his book, then sent out a palm and lightly tapped me on the back, unsealing my acupoints. Following this, the two of them flew out of the window. I lowered my head and saw that three holes had appeared in the chest of my clothes. Three abacus beads were neatly and perfectly nailed into my chest. Even if one had used a ruler and other tools, it would be extremely difficult to place them so accurately. Look, look, look. Everyone, take a look at my predicament for yourself.” And as he spoke, he removed his upper body garments.

As everyone looked at him, they couldn’t help but laugh. Two of the abacus beads were planted precisely on top of his nipples, with the other one in between them. Can it be that he wasn’t able to think of a way to remove them, despite all these years having passed? Cui Baiquan shook his head, rebuttoning his clothes. “For these three beads to be placed on my body is really a heavy punishment. At first, I wanted to dig them out with a knife. But as soon as I used the slightest bit of force, I agitated my own meridians and passed out. It took four hours before I was able to wake up. How about using sandpaper or a filing knife to slowly destroy it? It was still so agonizing that I screamed like a goddamn pig. This punishment has followed my spirit and never left my body. Whenever it is about to rain, these three points of my chest are filled with so much unbearable ****ing pain. It’s more accurate than tortoise shell divinations!” Everyone present was both astonished and amused.

Cui Baiquan let out a sigh. “This man said that the next time he saw me, he would take my life. I can’t let him take my life, but if I ever met him again, I can’t prevent him from taking it either. The only thing I could do was to make sure he would never see me again. I had no other choice but to escape far away. I ended up arriving at the South-Subduing Palace. There were many experts here, including Prince Duan, Gao Shengtai, Chu Wanli, and the other bodyguards. Surely, they wouldn’t stand by and do nothing and simply watch as my life was taken away. When these three beads on my chest began to hurt, I had no choice but to drown the pain in alcohol for a while. Any lofty aspirations, grand ideals, or dreams of becoming a famous man of my time had become totally out of ****ing reach, more distant than the ninth level of the heavens.”

Everyone thought to themselves, “This person’s situation is largely the same as that of the Yellow Browed Monk. The only difference is that one left the secular world and became a monk, whereas the other hid his identity and lived incognito.” Duan Yu asked, “Mr. Huo, how do you know that those two belonged to Gusu’s Murong lineage?” He was used to calling this person ‘Mr. Huo’, and wasn’t able to instantly change his mode of address.

Cui Baiquan scratched his head and said, “That was the hypothesis of my martial brother. After being hit by these three abacus beads, I went to discuss the situation with him. He told me that in the wulin, only Gusu’s Murong family would ‘Use the opponent’s skills, exercising them upon the opponent.’ I use abacus beads to attack others, and so he used abacus beads to attack me. Gusu’s Murong family isn’t a flourishing one. ****! It’s a good thing there’s not a lot of them in the world. If they had thousands of sons and hundreds of grandsons, there would be no others left in the jianghu. Only their family would be left.”

These words were extremely disrespectful to Dali’s Duan family, but no one cared. He continued, “The only famous person from their family is Murong Bo. Forty three years ago, the kid who used the Vajra Finger to harm this respected monk was aged fifteen or sixteen. Eighteen years ago, the man who drilled these three beads into my chest was in his forties. It seems likely that they both were the same person, Murong Bo. I never would have imagined that my martial brother would lose his life to him as well. Yanzhi, how did your master offend him?”

Guo Yanzhi replied, “These past few years, my master had been focused on his business. He would often say, ‘harmony brings prosperity’. He never quarreled with anybody. There’s no way that he could’ve offended Gusu’s Murong family. We’re located in Nanyang; they’re located in Suzhou. There’s a huge distance between us.”

Cui Baiquan said, “Most likely, Murong Bo wasn’t able to find me, shrinking, cowardly turtle that I am, and went to ask your master for my location. Your master was a loyal, filial man. He would rather die than reveal my location, and lost his life under Murong Bo’s hands. Brother Ke! I harmed you!” As he spoke, tears began to fall from his eyes and he had a runny nose. Sobbing, he said, “Murong Bo…Bo, Bo, Bo! I’ll rip your skin off [Bo is a homonym for another Chinese character, meaning to skin]!” After crying for a bit, he turned to Duan Zhengchun and said, “Prince Duan, all I have to say, I have. Thank you for taking care of me over the past few years and not exposing my identity. I feel extremely grateful towards you, but it will be difficult for me to repay you. I am heading to Gusu right now!” Astonished, Duan Zhengchun said, “You are going to Gusu?”

Cui Baiquan said, “Right! My martial brother and I are as close as blood brothers. How can I not avenge his murder? Yanzhi, let’s go!” As he spoke, he clasped his hands towards every person, then turned around and left. Guo Yanzhi also paid his respects to everyone present, then followed him out.

This turn of events was completely out of everyone’s expectations. They saw how terrified Cui Baiquan was of Gusu’s Murong family. But when he spoke of going to avenge his martial brother, despite the fact that he knew he was going to his death, he didn’t show an iota of fear. Everyone secretly felt respect for him within their hearts. Duan Zhengchun called out, “Gentlemen, please wait. Brother Guo has travelled such a long distance to get here. Please take a night’s rest at my humble abode first, then leave on the morrow.” Cui Baiquan halted, turned around, and said, “Yes! We’ll follow your orders, prince, and trouble you for one last meal. Yanzhi, let’s go drinking!” He led Guo Yanzhi away.

Emperor Baoding said to Duan Zhengchun, “Brother Chun, tomorrow, go with Ministers Hua, Fan, and Ba to the Shenjie monastery of Luliang prefecture. Hold a memorial service on my behalf for master Xuanbei.” Duan Zhengchun agreed. Huizhen and Huiguan kowtowed, showing their thanks. Emperor Baoding said to Duan Zhengchun, “After paying your respects to Abbot Wuye, wait at the Shenjie monastery for the arrival of the other master monks of Shaolin, then give them my return letter for Abbot Xuanci.” He said to Ba Tianshi, “Prepare a pair of letters. One will go to Abbot Xuanci, the other will go to Abbot Wuye. Also prepare gifts for both of them.” Ba Tianshi bowed and acknowledged the order. Emperor Baoding continued, “Escort these two eminment monks to their rooms so that they can have some rest.” After Ba Tianshi escorted Huizhen and Huiguan out, Emperor Baoding said, “Dali’s Duan family came from the wulin of the central plains. We have never dared to forget our origins, despite the passage of centuries. When friends from the wulin of the central plains come here, we always happily welcome them with lavish ceremony. But our ancestors laid down an extremely strict rule. The scions of the Duan family are completely forbidden from getting involved in the enmities of the jianghu of the central plains. Although we will not and cannot ignore the death of master Xuanbei, we will leave the question of getting revenge up to Shaolin. We cannot interfere.” Duan Zhengchun said, “Yes, your brother understands.”

The Yellow Browed Monk said, “It really is very difficult to decide what our proper course of action here is. We must assist Shaolin, but we cannot get involved in any revenge killings. Although Gusu’s Murong family does not have many people, as a famous, aristocratic wulin family, they certainly have a huge number of friends and affiliates. For Shaolin to be open enemies of Gusu’s Murong family would be an shocking, earth-shattering event of wulin. Blood will spray like rain, and the wind will reek of flesh. Who knows how many people will perish. For the past few years, the country of Dali has been peaceful and prosperous. If we get too deeply involved in this spat, I’m afraid that in future years, there will be many people who come to Dali for the purpose of settling scores.”

Emperor Baoding said, “Master, your words are most correct. Our only option is to act totally in accordance with the righteous path, while also showing as much forebearance as we can. Brother Chun, you must always remember these four words: ‘Maintain righteousness, exercise forebearance.’” Duan Zhengchun cupped his hands in acknowledgement of the lesson.

The Yellow Browed Monk said, “My two worthy brothers, I must depart now. I need to take a stroll at the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge.” Everyone was astonished. Emperor Baoding said, “Martial brother, what business do you have at the Ten Thousand Calmities Gorge? Who do you want to take with you?” The Yellow Browed Monk laughed. “I won’t even take my two disciples. My two worthy brothers, why don’t you try to guess why I am going there?” Seeing a cheerful smile on his face, Emperor Baoding and Duan Zhengchun felt that it probably wasn’t some dangerous affair. And yet, they still weren’t able to guess what it might be. The Yellow Browed Monk smiled towards Duan Yu. “Worthy nephew, I’ll wager you can guess what it is.”

Duan Yu was startled. “Why is it that I can guess what it is, despite my uncle and father being unable to?” But suddenly, the answer came to him. Laughing, he said, “Master, you are going to investigate that game of chess!” The Yellow Browed Monk laughed loudly. “Precisely. I have no idea as to how, precisely, I defeated Crown Prince Yanqing in that game of chess. Why did he kill one of his own eyes?” Duan Yu shook his head. “I don’t know either.” The Yellow Browed Monk said, “Can it be that there was some oddity within the stone house, or on the blue stone? This humble monk must go take a second look!”

For students of chess, after each game, regardless of victory or defeat, they would go and ponder and deliberate the moves of that match. They would consider where they made weak moves or unwise moves, or where they attacked to aggressively or moved too sluggishly. They wouldn’t feel comfortable until after they had totally understood the intricacies of the game. Not to mention, the Yellow Browed Monk won this game of chess in an extremely strange manner. If he couldn’t discover the secret to this game of chess, it would most likely vex him for the rest of his life.

Emperor Baoding immediately returned to his own palace. The Yellow Browed Monk instructed his two disciples to return to the Flower Gathering Monastery, then went by himself to the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge. He reassembled the blue stone chessboard which was shattered by Crown Prince Yanqing, then began pondering each move step by step.

After escorting Emperor Baoding and the Yellow Browed Monk out of the palace, Duan Zhengchun returned to his own room, intending to discuss the day’s events with his wife. Unfortunately, Dao Baifeng, still angry with him over the discovery that he had another illegitimate daughter, in the form of Zhong Ling, had locked the door and wouldn’t let him in. Duan Zhengchun begged her from outside to open up for a long time. She replied, “If you don’t leave immediately, I’m going back to the Hollow Jade Monastery!”

Helpless, Duan Zhengchun could only return to the study room, sitting down gloomily. He suddenly thought of Zhong Ling, and wondered if Zhong Wanchou and the Divine Crocodile could rescue her. Chu Wanli and the others had left to investigate, but hadn’t returned to make a report yet. His mind was uneasy. He stroked the golden box which Gan Baobao had returned to him. Staring at her slender, fine handwriting, his mind returned to a time seventeen years past, where the two of them had shared joy and happiness so overwhelming, it had penetrated to their marrows. Then he thought of how she had painfully waited for him for so long, before she finally was forced to marry Zhong Wanchou. He couldn’t help but feel a deep ache within his heart. “At that time, she was only a seventeen year old girl. Her parents had always treated her unkindly. She was carrying my child within her, out of wedlock. What else could she do?”

The more he thought, the more miserable he felt. Suddenly, he remembered the words which Dao Baifeng had earlier said to Minister Hua. “This tunnel passes by Madame Zhong’s bedroom. If you don’t collapse it, I’m afraid that one of the gentlemen currently present will henceforth go tunnel his way there every night from now on.” He immediately ordered one of his servants to secretly summon two of Minister Hua’s most able family warriors, admonishing him to keep everything secret.

Within his own study room, Duan Yu’s mind was fully occupied with running through all the strange events which had recently transpired. First, his wedding engagement with Mu Wanqing, then his discovery that she was his sister. Even more bizarre, Zhong Ling was also his sister. Zhong Ling had been kidnapped by Yun Zhonghe, and whether or not she had escaped his clutches was as of yet unknown. His heart was filled with worry. Then, he thought of Murong Bo and his wife studying the art of the ‘Graceful Steps Upon the Waves’. He wondered what sort of connection they might have with his Dear Goddess from the cave. Could it be that they were disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect [literally, ‘Carefree’ Sect]? Are they the people whom the Dear Goddess has ordered me to kill? They have attained such an incredibly high level of martial arts. For someone to expect me to try and kill them will be a joke of colossal proportions.

His mind wandered to his imprisonment within the stone house. Thank goodness he hadn’t committed any incestuous acts. It really was a stroke of luck. In addition, he had become much more familiar with the footwork of the ‘Graceful Steps Upon the Waves’ as well. However, he had been slacking with regards to doing the homework which the Dear Goddess had assigned him. He immediately reached within his bosom, intending to pull the manuscript out. As soon as his fingers brushed its surface, he realized that something was wrong. He quickly extracted the manuscript, then let out a series of cries, “Aiyo! Aiyo!” The scroll had long since been torn into many scattered pieces. Upon unwrapping it, he found that all the pieces were jumbled together. How could this be readable at all? Of the scattered pieces of parchment, perhaps only thirty percent of the original remained. The damage done to the actual diagrams and instructions was even more severe. Duan Yu’s entire body trembled, as though he had been thrown into a room built of ice. He thought to himself, “How…how could this have happened.”

Only after a long time had passed did he vaguely recollect that after being imprisoned by the man in green, his entire body had suddenly turned unbearably hot. He had wildly ripped and torn at his clothes. Later, as he ran and jumped about madly, he had continued to wildly tear at his clothes. In his dazed state, how could he tell the difference between clothes and manuscripts? Naturally, he tore at everything, ripping them into little pieces then casting them aside.

He stared stupidly at the image of the naked girl on the scroll, whose arms and legs had been torn off with the parchment they were drawn upon. And yet, there was a feel of relief in his heart as well. “The manuscript has been destroyed. I can no longer learn the martial arts written within it. It’s not that I refuse to obey Dear Goddess’s orders, but that I am unable to. All that stuff about exterminating the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect no longer apply.” He threw the remaining scraps of parchment into the fireplace, then lit the fire and burned them to ash. He thought to himself, “The naked pictures are badly damaged. Each time I look at them, I would be profaning the memory of the Dear Goddess. It is heaven’s will that it be destroyed in flame.”

He saw that it was now late at night, and headed to his mother’s room. He wanted to have a good conversation with her and share a meal. Arriving at her room, he saw that the door was shut tightly. The female servant in charge of waiting on the princess giggled, “The princess is sleeping. Please come back tomorrow.” Duan Yu thought to himself, “Oh, right. Father must be inside.” Turning away, he left, intending to find Mu Wanqing and have a conversation with her instead. But after taking a few steps, he decided that it would be best for him to avoid her for now. For him to visit her now would only make her feel sadder. Bored and aimless, he strolled towards the inner garden.

By now, the moon appeared. He sat for a while at the pavilion by the side of the pond, watching as the curved crescent moon rose up into the sky from the east. He thought to himself that at this moment, the moonlight would also be descending upon the jade cliffs of Mt. Wuliang. After a few more hours, a multicolored long sword would appear on those jade cliffs, pointing to the abode of the Dear Goddess. Just as he was beginning to fall into a spellbound trance, he heard a soft whistle come from outside of the walls. Listening, he heard the sound a few more times. In the past, he wouldn’t have paid such a thing any mind. But in the past few days, he had undergone many things and broaded his experiences. He thought to himself, “Can it be that a person of the jianghu is sending a secret signal?”

After a short period of time, the whistle came again. Suddenly, a shadow flashed by the peony flower terrace. As it reached the wall, it leapt on top of it. Duan Yu involuntarily cried out, “Sister Wan!” The person was Mu Wanqing. He watched as she leapt down from the wall, to the other side.

Duan Yu cried out a second time, “Sister Wan!” He rushed to the spot where Mu Wanqing had leapt onto the wall, but he himself, of course, didn’t have that sort of ability. There was a door next to him, leading out of the garden, but it was bolted and locked shut with an iron padlock. He could do nothing but loudly shout out, “Sister Wan! Sister Wan!”

Only to hear Mu Wanqing loudly shout back from the other side of the wall, “Why do you keep on calling my name? I never want to see you again! I’m leaving with my mom!” Duan Yu anxiously said, “Don’t leave! No matter what, you mustn’t leave!” Mu Wanqing did not reply.

After a while, he heard the voice of an older woman say from the other side, “Wan’er, let’s go! Alas! It’s useless.” Mu Wanqing was still silent. Duan Yu knew that this woman must be Qin Hongmian. He shouted, “Aunt Qin, please come in.”

Qin Hongmian said, “Come in? For what purpose? So that your mother can kill me?”

Duan Yu wasn’t able to formulate a reply. He hit the door hard, calling out, “Sister Wan, Sister Wan! Don’t go! Let’s slowly think of an idea.” Mu Wanqing replied, “What idea can we come up with? Heaven itself has no ideas!” After pondering a moment, she called out, “I have an idea. Are you interested?” Duan Yu happily replied, “Great! What’s the plan?”

With two ‘chi’ sounds, the blade of a thin blue sabre was inserted within the openings at the side of the doorway, then cut the henges off. Following that, with a pair of ‘peng’ sounds, the gate was pushed open. Mu Wanqing stood in the doorway. Within her hands, she held that thin blue asura sabre. She said, “Stretch out your neck and let me chop it in half. Then I’ll immediately kill myself. When we reincarnate, we won’t be brother and sister. That way, we can become man and wife.”

Duan Yu was so frightened that he was stupefied. In a quavering voice, he replied, “This…this isn’t…isn’t workable!”

Mu Wanqing said, “I’m willing. Why aren’t you? Alternately, you can kill me first, then take your own life.” As she spoke, she handed an asura sabre over towards him. Duan Yu hurriedly took two steps back. “No way, no way!”

Mu Wanqing slowly turned around. Grasping her mother’s arm, she quickly walked away. Duan Yu blankly stared as their silhouettes disappeared within the darkness of the night. For a long, long time, he did not move.

Slowly, the moon rose until it was in the middle of the sky, but he continued to stand there without moving. He suddenly felt a tightness at the back of his neck, and then he was lifted up in the sky by someone. A quiet voice laughed. “Do you wanna die, or do you wanna live? If you wanna be my master, you’ll be a dead master. But if you’re willing to be my apprentice, you’ll be a living apprentice.” It was the Divine Crocodile’s voice.

Duan Zhengchun, with two of Hua Hegen’s most skilled subordinates, swiftly rode to the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge. These two subordinates, having helped Hua Hegen dig the tunnel, knew where the entrance to it was. They led him to it, then shifted away the branches and twigs which they had used to camouflage the entrance. One of them said, “Let this humble one guide you.” Duan Zhengchun said, “No need! The two of you shall just wait for me here.”

Just as he was about to crawl into the tunnel, he suddenly a shadow flash by from behind a large tree to the west. The movement was extremely quick. Duan Zhengchun immediately utilized his energy and charged over there. He cried out in a low voice, “Who are you?” Behind the large tree, a man whispered back, “Prince, I am Cui Baiquan!” He stepped out from behind the tree.

Surprised, Duan Zhengchun said, “Brother Cui, what are you doing here?” Cui Baiquan said, “This humble one heard that your honored daughter had been abducted. I came with my martial nephew Guo in order to look for her. I saw some clues on the road and deduced that the young miss most likely fled back here. But that villain is continuing to pursue her and not letting up.”

Duan Zhengchun’s mind was suddenly enlightened. “This Cui Baiquan is a man who distinguishes between benevolence and mistreatment. He had hidden himself in my manor for all these years, and consequently feels that he owes me a debt of gratitude. He is about to go seek out Gusu’s Murong family for revenge; this is tantamount to throwing his life away. He hoped to be able to find my daughter Ling’er, and in this way repay the gift of protection which I had given him for the past ten or so years.”

He immediately bowed deeply. “Brother Cui, I can’t thank you enough for the righteousness you have displayed.” Cui Baiquan replied, “I’ll go search for her over there.” In a flash, he entered the forested woods, demonstrating an exceptionally capable skill in qinggong.

Duan Zhengchun thought to himself, “Brother Cui’s martial arts is not inferior at all to Wanli or Danchen.” Returning to the tunnel entrance, he entered the tunnel. After crawling for a while, he came to a fork in the tunnel. The two subordinates had already told him earlier that the northeastern tunnel led to the stone house which had previously imprisoned Duan Yu and Mu Wanqing, and that the northwestern tunnel led to Madame Zhong’s bedroom. He immediately crawled in the northwestern direction. Arriving at the end of the tunnel, he gently lifted up the board above his head by a few inches. Bright light appeared before him. He slowly peered into the crack, only to see a pair of purple, flower-embroidered shoes resting on the floor. Duan Zhengchun felt a great shock in his heart, then pushed the board up another two inches.

He heard Gan Baobao let out a long sigh. After a while, she quietly said, “If you weren’t a prince, but were instead a farmer or a hunter, or a philandering little thief, or a bandit who plundered homes, I would still have followed you…I would have followed you my entire life…” Following this, a few teardrops fell, descending on the floorboard next to her flower-embroidered shoes.

Duan Zhengchun felt a gush of warm feeling rise from the pit of his stomach. He thought to himself, “I won’t be a prince anymore. I’ll be a thief or a bandit and have you follow me for the rest of our lives. What’s so good about being a prince anyhow?”

Only to hear Gan Baobao continue, “Can it be…can it be that I really will never see you again for the rest of my life? Not even once? I…I’m better off dead. Brother Chun, brother Chun…do you miss me at all?” These soft laments were truly heart-rending and deeply moving. Duan Zhengchun couldn’t resist from quietly whispering, “Baobao…my beloved Baobao…” Gan Baobao was startled. She stood up, then immediately let out a sigh. She mumbled to herself, “I’m dreaming again. I dreamed that you were calling to me.” Duan Zhengchun said in a low voice, “Beloved Baobao, I really am calling out to you. I’ve always been thinking of you and missing you.”

Gao Baobao let out a startled cry. “Brother Chun, is it really you?” Duan Zhengchun pushed the floorboard aside and crawled out. In a low voice, he said, “Beloved Baobao, it really is me!” Gan Baobao, upon suddenly seeing Duan Zhengchun appear before her, lost all color in her face. She took a few steps forward, her entire body trembling. Duan Zhengchun rushed forwards and embraced her in her arms. Gan Baobao’s body suddenly swayed, and then she passed out.

Duan Zhengchun hurriedly massaged her ‘Renzhong’ acupoint. Slowly, Gan Baobao began to come to. She felt that her body was in Duan Zhengchun’s embrace, while he was kissing her face. She was filled with such joy that her entire body was about to explode from it. Her mind in a daze, she whispered, “Brother Chun, Brother Chun…I’m dreaming again.” Duan Zhengchun tightly embraced her warm, soft body. He whispered in her ear, “Beloved Baobao, you aren’t dreaming. I’m the one dreaming.”

Suddenly, a coarse voice erupted from outside the door. “Who?! Who’s inside the room?! I heard a male voice!” It was Zhong Wanchou’s voice. Duan Zhengchun and Gan Baobao were both startled. Gan Baobao loudly replied, “I’m inside! What’s this nonsense about a male voice or a female voice? You’re babbling again!”

Duan Zhengchun whispered into her ear, “Run away with me. I’ll be a thief or a bandit. I won’t be a prince anymore.” Absolutely jubilant, Gan Baobao whispered back, “I’ll be a thief’s wife or a bandit’s wife. Even if it’s just for one day, it would be wonderful.”

Without his wife’s permission, Zhong Wanchou didn’t dare to enter his wife’s room. But from a window, he saw a man’s shadow inside the room. He loudly cried out, “You have a man inside your room! I…I see him!” He no longer cared about whether or not his wife had given permission and knocked the door open with a flying kick.

The back of Duan Yu’s neck had been seized by the Divine Crocodile. Held up in mid-air, he couldn’t move in the slightest. He had only finished practicing one part of the ‘Divine Art of the Northern Darkness’, the ‘Shoutaiyinfei’ part. He could only use the ‘Shaoshang’ acupoint on his thumb to fight with people. In addition, the opponent was using all his might in seizing him; how could he drain his energy away, with all of his other acupoints unable to draw internal energy? He was just about to shout, but the Divine Crocodile stretched out his left hand and covered his mouth.

Holding him, the Divine Crocodile raced away. He did not stop until he had arrived in a quiet, secluded place, far away from the South Subduing Palace. He put Duan Yu back down, but did not release the back of his neck, fearing that if he did, Duan Yu would utilize that bizarre set of footwork to flee.

Duan Yu let out a bitter smile. “Evidently, you changed your mind. You don’t want to be my disciple after all; you’d rather be a bastard son of a turtle.” The Divine Crocodile replied, “Says who? First, return to me my eight kowtows and expel me from your sect, releasing me from your tutelage. Then kowtow to me eight more times and accept me as your master. We’ll do this orderly and by the book. That way, there’ll be no issue of me being a bastard son of a turtle.”

Duan Yu couldn’t help but laugh silently to himself. “