“my big apprentice brother offended you, naturally you would get angry. But that really has nothing to do with little apprentice sister. Uncle-Master, please show mercy and let her go.”

“Sure, I will!” Dingyi yelled scornfully. She raised her right arm and swept it out in an arc.

Lao Denuo and Liang Fa felt a strong burst of energy shooting toward them, so strong that they could hardly breathe. They then found themselves flying backwards. Lao Denuo landed on his back at the door of the shop across the street from the teashop. With a splintering crack, two of the door planks broke in half. Liang Fa flew straight toward a wonton stove. If he had landed on the wonton stove and knocked it over, boiling water would splash all over him and scald him badly. But the old wonton seller reached out with his left hand and caught Liang Fa by his back. Liang Fa landed safely.

Sister Dingyi turned back and gave a stare to the old wonton seller. “So it’s you!” she said.

“That’s right, it’s me,” the old man smiled. “Sister, you’ve got quite a temper.”

“That’s none of your concern,” Dingyi snapped.

Right at that moment, with oilcloth umbrellas over their heads and lanterns in their hands, two men rushed toward the teashop. “Are you the respectful Sister of the Heng-Shan Sword School?” they shouted from afar.

“You flatter me. I am Dingyi of the Heng-Shan Sword School. Who are you?” Dingyi asked.

When the two men came closer, two big red words written on the lanterns in their hands became more recognizable. It read, “Liu House.”

“We junior apprentices were instructed by our Master to invite Uncle-Master Dingyi and all the fellow apprentice sisters to have dinner at our humble house,” one said. “We didn’t get the news that you had already arrived at Hengshan, so we didn’t greet you at the gate. Please pardon us.” He bowed to pay his respect.

“That is very polite of you. Are you two apprentices of Master Liu?” Dingyi asked in a slightly softer tone.

“Yes. My name is Xiang Danian, and this is my apprentice brother Mi Weiyi. How are you, Uncle-Master?” The two saluted again.

Seeing the good manners of the pair, Dingyi agreed, “All right, we were just about to go visit Master Liu, anyway.”

“May I ask who you are?” Xiang Danian asked Liang Fa.

“I am Liang Fa, apprentice of the Huashan Sword School,” Liang Fa answered.

“You are the senior third brother Liang of the Huashan Sword School!” Xiang Danian said happily. “I have been looking forward to meeting you. Everyone please come to our humble house. Our Master told us to greet all the heroes from different groups, but there are so many people coming, we are afraid that we have been poor hosts and offended friends. Please come this way.”

“We were planning on waiting here until big apprentice brother showed up, and then go to congratulate Uncle-Master Liu together,” Lao Denuo went over and said.

“You must be second apprentice brother Lao,” Xiang Danian said. “My Master always praises Huashan apprentice brothers studying under Uncle-Master Yue. Especially apprentice brother Linghu, a very outstanding young hero. Since apprentice brother Linghu is not here yet, why don’t you come first?”

Lao Denuo pondered the situation in his head. “Little apprentice sister is under the control of Uncle-Master Dingyi, and it seems that she won’t let her go easily. We simply have no other choice but to go with her.” At that thought, he answered, “I hope this will not be an inconvenience.”

“Your coming to Hengshan is an honor. Why be so modest? Please! Please!” Xiang Danian greeted.

“Aren’t you going to invite this one?” Dingyi pointed at the old wonton seller.

Xiang Danian looked at the old man for a moment before he recognized him. “So, it is Uncle-Master He[2] from Mount Yandang!” He bowed. “What a lack of manners on my part. Uncle-Master He, will you please come to our humble house as well?”

He had guessed that this old wonton seller was the master from Mount Yandang, He Sanqi. He Sanqi made a living by selling wontons when he was young. Even after he became proficient in the martial arts, he still carried his wonton stove with him when he wandered about. The wonton stove was more or less like his trademark. Although he had tremendous skills, he did not seek fame or wealth, content to live off his small business. Everyone in the Martial World respected him. There were thousands of people selling wonton on streets and in alleys; the only one that sold wontons and also had excellent Kung Fu skills would have to be He Sanqi.

“I’ll go,” He Sanqi said with a smile, and started to clear off the wonton bowls on the table.

“We junior apprentices didn’t recognize you, respectful Master. I hope senior Master does not mind,” Lao Denuo said apologetically.

“Not at all, not at all. You came to me as my good customers, why would I mind? Nine bowls of wonton, ten coins a piece. That means you owe me ninety coins.” He Sanqi extended his left palm out after the words.

Lao Denuo was very embarrassed, and wasn’t sure if He Sanqi was just kidding.

“Hey, pay the bill after you eat. He Sanqi never said he was letting you eat for free,” Dingyi said.

“Yeah, small business, cash only. No credits or late payments, not even relatives or close friends,” He Sanqi announced.

“Of course, of course,” Lao Denuo answered. He dared not to give any extra, so he counted ninety copper coins carefully and handed the money over respectfully with both of his hands.

He Sanqi took the money, and then turned to Dingyi, with his palm out. “You broke two of my bowls and two china spoons. That comes to a total of fourteen coins.”

“You penny-pinching skinflint! You even cheat money from nuns. Yiguang, pay him the money,” Dingyi chortled.

Yiguang counted fourteen coins and handed over the money respectfully with both hands. He Sanqi took the money and threw it into a bamboo tube by the wonton stove, and then lifted the stove and said, “Let’s go!”

“We’ll take care of all the bills later. Write them up under Master Liu,” Xiang Danian said to the teashop waiter.

“Ha you all, they are all Master Liu’s guests ha you all. It is an honor to have them here ha you all. Forget about the bills, ha you all. It’s on the house,” the waiter said, beaming.

Xiang Danian distributed the umbrellas they had brought with them and then led the way at the front. Dingyi dragged the girl Lingshan of Huashan Sword School and walked side by side with He Sanqi. All the Huashan apprentices and Heng-Shan apprentices followed behind.

Lin Pingzhi thought to himself, “Let me follow them from far behind. Let’s see if I can sneak into Liu Zhengfeng’s house by any chance.”

After the group turned around a corner, he stood up and walked to the corner of the street. The group headed north, so he followed in the heavy rain by walking under the eaves by the street. After walking three long streets, he saw a big mansion by the left side of the street. Four big lanterns in front illuminated the gate. About ten people stood in front, some holding torches and others holding umbrellas, busily greeting guests. After Dingyi, He Sanqi, and others of the group walked into the house, more guests came from both ends of the street.

Lin Pingzhi plucked up his courage and walked to the gate. Two groups of guests happened to be going in the mansion led by an apprentice of the Liu House. Lin Pingzhi followed them in quietly. The greeting apprentices thought he was one of the guests and greeted, “Come in please! Have some tea please.”

Lin Pingzhi stepped into the crowded great hall. There were over two hundred people sitting at different tables and talking to each other. Lin Pingzhi calmed a little. “There are so many people here; no one will ever pay any attention to me. I just need to find those Qingcheng villains, then I will be able to find out where my mom and dad are.” So he sat down at a small table in a dark corner. Soon, servants brought tea, snacks, and hot towels for him.

He looked around, and saw the nuns of Heng-Shan Sword School sitting at a table to the left. The apprentices of Huashan Sword School were sitting around another table nearby. The girl Lingshan was sitting there also. It seemed that Dingyi had decided to let her go. But Dingyi and He Sanqi were not among them.

Lin Pingzhi surveyed one table after another, and felt a sudden shock when he saw Fang Renzhi, Yu Renhao, and a bunch of others sitting around two tables. Obviously they were all apprentices of the Qingcheng Sword School. His parents weren’t among them. He wondered where they could be kept. Feeling both sad and angry, and also fearful that his parents were already dead, he felt a strong urge to move to a table closer to them, so he could overhear some of their conversation. But considering it had been so difficult for him to get this far, if he acted recklessly and attracted the attention of Fang Renzhi and his fellows, he would be not only wasting all his efforts so far, but also getting himself into a fatal situation.

A disturbance suddenly came from near the gate. Several men in blue robes came in hurriedly carrying two door planks. Two men lay on the door planks. They were covered with white sheets that were soaked in blood. People in the hall soon gathered around them to have a closer look.

“They are from the Taishan Sword School!” Somebody muttered. “That’s Priest Tiansong of the Taishan Sword School. Wow, that wound on him looks fatal. Who’s the other one?”

“He’s an apprentice of Priest Tianmen – the Head Master of the Taishan Sword School. His name is Chi. Is he dead already?”

“Sure. Dead! Look at that knife wound – in from his chest and out his back, how could he survive that?”

Amid an uproar, the dead one and the wounded one were carried into the Back Hall. Many people followed them there. The ones remained in the great hall all began to talk about the incident.

“Priest Tiansong is an excellent fighter from the Taishan Sword School. Who would be so bold as to challenge him?”

“If this person could wound Priest Tiansong, he obviously has better Kung Fu skills. Better skills, more courage, that’s why.”

While the crowd was still discussing the incident, Xiang Danian emerged from the Back Hall and went straight to the table where all the apprentices from the Huashan Sword School were gathered.

“Apprentice brother Lao, my Master would like to have a word with you. Will you please come with me?” he asked Lao Denuo.

“Sure,” Lao Denuo answered. He stood up and followed Xiang Danian into the inner room.

They went through a long hallway, and then into a side hall. There were five armchairs placed sitting side by side at the north end of the hall. Four of them were empty, while a big red-faced Taoist priest occupied the easternmost chair. Lao Denuo knew that these five armchairs were reserved for the five Head Masters of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance. The Head Masters of Songshan, Heng-Shan, Huashan, and Hengshan hadn’t arrived yet. This red-faced Taoist priest was none other than the Head Master of the Taishan Sword School, Priest Tianmen. Nineteen senior masters sat to the side. Sister Dingyi from the Heng-Shan Sword School, Yu Canghai from the Qingcheng Sword School and He Sanqi from Mount Yandang were all among them. At the south end of the hall, upon the seat for the host, sat a short, fat, middle-aged man in expensive dark red-brown robes of silk. He was the host Liu Zhengfeng.

Lao Denuo first saluted the host Liu Zhengfeng, and then knelt down in front of Priest Tianmen with a greeting, “Apprentice of Huashan Sword School, Lao Denuo, pays his respect to Uncle-Master Tianmen.”

Priest Tianmen appeared to be full of rage, and seemed to be on the verge of exploding. “Where is Linghu Chong?” he bellowed, striking the arm of the chair heavily with his left hand. His voice was so astounding that it sounded like thunder from the sky. Even the people in the great hall could hear him and all shuddered.

“Third apprentice brother, they are looking for big apprentice brother again!” the young girl Lingshan cried.

Liang Fa nodded but did not say a word. After a while, he whispered, “Let’s all stay calm! There are so many people gathered here from different places; don’t let them look upon our Huashan Sword School with scorn.”

Lin Pingzhi couldn’t help thinking, “They are looking for Linghu Chong again. This old fellow Linghu certainly has a knack for trouble.”

Back at the Side Hall, Lao Denuo’s ears were almost deafened by the resounding bellowing from Priest Tianmen. He had to remain kneeling for quite a while before he could get a grip of himself and stand up again.

“Uncle-Master, apprentice brother Linghu departed from us in the town of Hengyang,” he answered. “We had planned to meet in Hengshan and then come to the Liu House to congratulate Uncle-Master Liu. If he doesn’t make it today, he will surely come tomorrow.”

“He still dares to come? He still has the gall to come? Linghu Chong is the big apprentice brother of your Huashan Sword School. Isn’t he supposed to be on the chivalry side of the Martial World? What is he doing hanging around with that wicked rapist, who stops at no evil, Tian Boguang! What does he think he is doing?” Priest Tianmen roared angrily.

“From what I know, big apprentice brother does not know Tian Boguang at all. Big apprentice brother is always fond of drinking; maybe he didn’t know it was Tian Boguang that he was drinking with,” Lao Denuo tried to speculate.

Stamping his foot on the floor heavily, Priest Tianmen stood up. “You are foolish to defend that damn swine Linghu Chong,” he snarled, his voice filled with rage. “Apprentice brother Tiansong, you…you tell him how you were wounded. Tell him whether Linghu Chong knew Tian Boguang.”

Two door planks were laid upon the floor to the west. A dead body lay on one, and a long-bearded Taoist priest lay on the other. The priest’s face appeared to be almost as white as a sheet, and blood soaked his entire beard. In a very low voice, he started talking.

“This morning…I…I was with nephew apprentice Chi at the Huiyan…Huiyan Wine House in…Hengyang. We saw Linghu Chong…together with Tian Boguang and a little nun….” He had to stop to catch his breath before finishing the words.

“Brother Tiansong, you don’t have to repeat the story. I will tell him what you said earlier,” Liu Zhengfeng volunteered. Turned his head to Lao Denuo, he said, “Nephew apprentice Lao, nephew apprentice Linghu and you fellow apprentices came a long way to my ceremony. I really appreciate the good will of apprentice brother Yue and all of you nephew apprentices. But we don’t know how nephew apprentice Linghu met Tian Boguang, and so we must find out the truth. Since our Five Mountains Sword Alliance is like a big family, if nephew apprentice Linghu has truly done something wrong, it is up to us to give him some advice….”

“What advice? Purge the school by chopping off his head!” Priest Tianmen shouted angrily.

“Apprentice brother Yue is always strict with respect to school rules, and the Huashan Sword School has always had a first-class reputation. This time nephew Linghu really went a little bit too far,” Liu Zhengfeng said with a sigh.

“You still call him a nephew? Nephew my ass!” Priest Tianmen swore angrily. After the words were already out, he realized that, as a Head Master of a big sword school, it was really not appropriate for him to use such foul language in front of Sister Dingyi. But it was already too late to take it back. So he let out a loud breath and sat back down angrily.

“Uncle-Master Liu, would you be kind enough to tell me what happened?” Lao Denuo requested.

Liu Zhengfeng said, “Just now, priest brother Tiansong told us: This morning, he went to the Huiyan Wine House in Hengyang with Chi Baicheng, the apprentice of priest brother Tianmen, to have a couple of drinks. When they went up to the wine house at the second floor, they saw three people drinking and eating there: the wicked rapist Tian Boguang, nephew apprentice Linghu, and the little apprentice of Sister Dingyi, Yilin. Priest brother Tiansong felt it very strange when he saw them. He didn’t know any of these three, but from their clothing, he could tell that one was an apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, and one was an apprentice of the Heng-Shan Sword School. Please hold your anger, Sister Dingyi. Nephew apprentice Yilin was coerced; it was obvious that she was not there of her own free will.

“Priest brother Tiansong said that Tian Boguang was a man of about thirty years of age dressed in nice clothes. He didn’t know who the man was, but later he heard nephew apprentice Linghu saying, ‘Brother Tian, although you have Qing-Gong[3] skills unsurpassed in the entire Martial World, if you have really bad luck, no matter how good your Qing-Gong skills are, you won’t be able to escape.’ Since his surname was Tian and he had the best Qing-Gong skills in the Martial World, there was no doubt he must have been ‘Ten Thousand Miles Loner’ Tian Boguang. Priest brother Tiansong is one who hates evil as if it were a personal enemy. When he saw the three drinking and eating together, of course he was enraged.”

“Yes!” Lao Denuo answered, thinking, “Three people drank together in the Huiyan Wine House. One was the infamous rapist, one was a little nun, and the other was the big senior apprentice of our Huashan Sword School; it was indeed quite an odd scene.”

Liu Zhengfeng continued, “He then heard Tian Boguang saying, ‘I, Tian Boguang, come and go as I please, traveling around the world alone. What’s there to worry about? Since we have already seen this little nun, why not just let her stay here and accompany us…?’”

At Liu Zhengfeng’s words, Lao Denuo cast a suspicious glance at him, and then also sneaked an as suspicious peek from the corner of his eyes at Priest Tiansong. Liu Zhengfeng understood instantly.

“Priest brother Tiansong is wounded very badly,” he said. “Of course he was unable to tell everything so clearly and continuously. I added some of my own words, but the main idea is just the same. Priest brother Tiansong, is that right?”

“Yes…yes, correct…correct!” Tiansong managed to answer.

With that confirmation, Liu Zhengfeng went on, “Nephew apprentice Chi Baicheng couldn’t stand it any more, so he struck the table with his hand and shouted, ‘Are you the evil rapist Tian Boguang? Everyone in the Martial World wants to kill you to rid the world of a scourge like you, yet here you are, bragging about yourself shamelessly. You must be tired of living!’ He drew his weapon and jumped forth to fight. Unfortunately, he was slain by Tian Boguang. It was really a pity that an outstanding young man lost his life to such an evil rapist. Priest brother Tiansong then jumped forth to fight with Tian Boguang. They fought for several hundreds rounds. Priest brother Tiansong wasn’t cautious enough and was wounded in the chest thanks to Tian Boguang’s dirty tricks. Afterwards, nephew apprentice Linghu still sat with the evil rapist and the two drank together. That is really contrary to the creed of our Five Mountains Sword Alliance. That’s why priest brother Tianmen is so angry.”

“What happened to our ideals of unity?” Priest Tianmen snarled. “We martial people should be able to tell right from wrong. Associating with such an evil rapist…such an evil rapist…!” His face turned scarlet with anger, and it almost seemed that his beard bristled.

Suddenly someone called from outside of the door, “Master, I have something to report.”

Priest Tianmen recognized it as the voice of one of his apprentices. “Come in!” he said. “What’s the matter?”

A young man about thirty years of age walked in. He first saluted to the host, Liu Zhengfeng, and all other senior masters, then he turned to Priest Tianmen and reported.

“Master, Uncle-Master Tianbai sent us the message that he has led the search for Tian Boguang and Linghu Chong the two evil rapists with apprentices of our school, but hasn’t found any trace of them….”

Hearing big apprentice brother being mentioned as the “evil rapist” group, Lao Denuo felt quite embarrassed. But it seemed big apprentice brother was really consorting with Tian Boguang, so what could he say?

“But outside the town of Hengyang, we found a corpse with a sword in his abdomen. The sword belonged to the evil rapist Linghu Chong…,” the Taishan Sword School apprentice continued.

“Who was the deceased?” Priest Tianmen asked hurriedly.

The young man gave a quick glance at Yu Canghai before answering, “He was an apprentice brother of Uncle-Master Yu. At the time when we found the body, nobody knew who he was. After we took the body back to town, someone recognized him to be apprentice brother Luo Renjie….”

Yu Canghai uttered a cry of shock and stood up instantly. “It was Renjie? Where’s the body?”

“Here it is,” someone answered from outside.

Yu Canghai was a man with good self-control. Although the bad news hit him hard so unexpectedly, and the deceased was one of the four best apprentices of Qingcheng “Ying Xiong Hao Jie,” he maintained his composure. “Nephew apprentice, please carry the body in,” he said.

“Yes,” the apprentice outside of the door responded.

Two men carried in a door plank. One of the two was an apprentice of the Hengshan Sword School, and the other was an apprentice of the Qingcheng Sword School. On the plank was a body with a sword thrust into the abdomen and going up at an angle. The sword was about three feet long, but the part protruding from the body was less than one foot long. Apparently, the tip of the sword went all the way up into the corpse’s throat. It was very rare to see this type of ruthless move that went from the bottom up in the Martial World.

“Linghu Chong, humph, Linghu Chong, how…how vicious you are,” Yu Canghai murmured.

“Uncle-Master sent the message that he is still searching for the two evil rapists. It would be better if one or two of the Uncle-Masters here could go and give him a helping hand,” the Taishan apprentice continued.

“I’ll go!” Dingyi and Yu Canghai said almost in unison.

Right at that moment, a sweet and lovely voice came from outside of the door, “Master, I am back!”

Dingyi’s expression changed immediately. “Is that Yilin? Get in here right now!” she shouted.

Everybody looked at the doorway, wanting to take a good look at this little nun, who was bold enough to drink in public with two evil rapists. The door curtain was lifted, and everyone felt as if the whole room had suddenly been brightened when the little nun walked quietly into the hall. She was possessed of grace and beauty. No one would have argued that she was a perfect creation of Heaven. She was only about sixteen years of age, and although wrapped in a big and loose nun’s robe, the curves of her body were apparent from her graceful movements. She walked till she stood in front of Dingyi, then knelt down and called out, “Master…!” After saying this, she suddenly burst into tears.

Dingyi straightened her face. “You…what has happened? How were you able to get away?” she asked anxiously.

“Master, I…I thought I would never see you again,” Yilin said in tears. Her voice was sweet and charming, and the two little hands clutching Dingyi’s sleeves were so white that they almost looked like they were carved of jade.

“How could such a beauty become a nun?” many in the room couldn’t help thinking to themselves.

Yu Canghai gave her only a quick glance, and then went back to staring at the sword in Luo Renjie’s body. There were green tassels attached to the handle of the sword. On the blade near the handle, the words “Huashan Linghu Chong” were etched on the blade. He looked around and saw Lao Denuo carrying by his waist the same kind of sword with green tassels attached to the handle. All of a sudden, he jumped toward Lao Denuo and thrust his fingers toward Lao Denuo’s eyes. The attack was as swift as it was fierce, and in an instant, the tips of his fingers had touched Lao Denuo’s eyelid. Lao Denuo was startled and hurriedly raised his arms to block the attack using a move called “Raise Fire to Burn Sky.” With a sneer, Yu Canghai rounded his left hand in a very small circle, and grabbed Lao Denuo’s hands in his left palm. Extending his right arm, he quickly unsheathed the sword by Lao Denuo’s waist.

Lao Denuo pulled hard in an effort to free his hands, which were being held by Yu Canghai, but failed miserably. And only a split of a second later, he found the tip of his own sword pointing right at his chest. “I…I am not involved!” he shouted out frantically.

Yu Canghai looked at the blade of the sword. There were words saying “Huashan Lao Denuo.” The size and the style of the words matched the other sword exactly. Lowering his wrist, he pointed the sword toward Lao Denuo’s stomach, and spoke grimly.

“Which move is this one in your respectful Huashan Sword Art that thrusts from the bottom up at an angle?”

Lao Denuo could feel cold sweat dripping from his forehead. “Our…our Huashan Sword Art does not have…have such a move,” he muttered in a quavering voice.

Yu Canghai thought, “The move that killed Renjie was thrusting up at the lower abdomen, and the tip of the sword went all the way up to the throat. Did Linghu Chong bend over and thrust upward from his backside? But after this killing, why didn’t he take his sword but intentionally left this evidence? Is he challenging the Qingcheng Sword School?” but suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Yilin’s voice.

“Uncle-Master Yu, this move of big brother Linghu’s is not part of the Huashan Sword Art.”

Yu Canghai turned around, his face an icy mask. “Sister, listen to the words of your respectful apprentice. What did she call this villain?”

“I have ears of my own and don’t need you to point things out to me!” Dingyi replied angrily.

She had heard Yilin referring to Linghu Chong as “big brother Linghu,” and was already angry about it. If Yu Canghai had spoken one moment later, she would have delivered a stern rebuke to Yilin, but since Yu Canghai spoke first, especially in such an impolite manner, she instead defended her apprentice.

“The words just slipped out of her mouth. What’s the big deal? Our Five Mountains sword schools are joined into one alliance; apprentices from any sword school of the Five Mountains are naturally fellow apprentices. What’s so strange about that?”

“Well! Well!” Yu Canghai laughed mockingly, as he gathered his energy from his lower abdomen, and then projected the energy from his left palm to push Lao Denuo away. Lao Denuo flew back and struck his back against a wall. Dirt and debris dropped from the ceiling from the impact.

“You think you are so innocent? Why have you been tailing me all this way? What are you up to?” Yu Canghai snapped.

After the shove and the impact, Lao Denuo felt as if his organs were turned upside down. He leaned against the wall and tried his best to not collapse. His knees were so weak that the only thing he wanted to do was to sit down on the floor. After hearing Yu Canghai’s words, he groaned inwardly. “So when little apprentice sister and I were spying on them, this crafty little crook had already known.”

“Yilin, come with me. Tell me exactly how they seized you,” Dingyi said as she pulled Yilin by the hand and walked toward the door.

Everyone knew only too well if such a beautiful little nun fell into the hands of an evil rapist like Tian Boguang, it would be nearly impossible for her to maintain her virginity. The whole story, of course, would not be appropriate to be revealed in front of other people. Obviously Sister Dingyi was going to take her somewhere private and then ask about the details.

Swiftly, Yu Canghai rushed to the doorway and blocked their way. “This incident involves two lives. Little Sister Yilin, please stay right here to tell the story,” he demanded. He paused a second and then continued, “Nephew apprentice Chi Baicheng was a member of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance. In your alliance, all are fellow apprentices; thus maybe the Taishan Sword School does not really mind that Linghu Chong killed Chi. But my apprentice Luo Renjie did not have the honor of calling Linghu Chong an apprentice brother.”

Dingyi was a very forceful woman; normally even her big senior sister Dingjing or the Head Master of Heng-Shan Sword School, senior sister Dingxian, would give way to her. How could she let Yu Canghai block her way with such impunity? Upon hearing these words, she raised her eyebrows immediately.

Liu Zhengfeng had long known of Sister Dingyi’s hot-temper. When he saw Dingyi raise her eyebrows, he knew she was ready to strike. Yu Canghai and Dingyi were both first-class masters in the Martial World. If they started a fight, things would really get out of hand. So he rushed forward and bowed deeply.

“Both of you have given me great honor by being my respectful guests here at my ceremony. For the sake of that, please do not damage the spirit of that goodwill. It is all my fault that I did not serve my guests well, I beg your pardon.” He kept bowing to both Dingyi and Yu Canghai.

Sister Dingyi let out a dry smile. “Master Liu, you really have a good sense of humor. I am only angry at this bull-nose.[4] It has nothing to do with you. Because he doesn’t allow me to leave, I leave to spite him. If he doesn’t block my way, then it is possible for me to stay.”

Yu Canghai had some degree of respect for Sister Dingyi’s fighting skills, and didn’t have total confidence in his ability to beat her in a fight. In addition, although her senior apprentice sister Dingxian had an amiable nature, it was well known that her Kung Fu skills were much greater. Even if he could win the fight today, her senior apprentice sister surely wouldn’t let it go that easily. And once he offended the Heng-Shan Sword School, there would be no end of trouble. So he also forced a dry smile.

“All I want is for Little Sister Yilin t