Fan Fiction 6-Love & Destiny (54 Chapters-complete

[sowfoong]

Fan Fiction 6 – Love and Destiny

Chapter 1

Ancient China

A lone man in a thin suit trekked through calf deep snow along the path besides the forest. Freezing cold wind lashed at his weathered face, his labored breaths escaped as vapor from his nostrils and mouth as he held a bundle tightly wrapped in layers of fur close to his chest. The old man sighed with relief at the sight of the faint glow of candlelight flickering between the gaps in the walls of the old broken down hut. He hurried forwards as fast as he could on his wearied legs. He knocked on the rickety door and almost fell on his face as the door swung open from within and the tip of a sword was pointed at his forehead!

“Old Fool, why did you come home at such an unearthly hour of the night? If I had mistakenly sent you to meet the King of Hell, it would have been your own fault!” an old woman with pure white hair scolded the weary old man.

“Ah, Old Lady, stop your nagging! Look what I had found!” the old man shoved the bundle wrapped in fur towards the old woman excitedly.

An angelic looking infant with pink chubby cheeks was revealed as the old woman dropped her sword and unwrapped the layers of fur and gasped, “Where on earth did you find such a beautiful baby?” The baby opened his eyes and looked curiously at the old woman, yawned widely and then he whimpered.

“I was on my way home when I stumbled upon a massacre in the forest thirty miles from here. There were bodies of four men with their throats cut scattered around. I looked around for survivors and found none till I heard this little baby whimpering. A young maid who had held him in her arms even in her death saved him from getting hypothermia from the blizzard. They were both hidden among some bushes, which would explain why they were not killed along with those men. The curious thing was that those men were dressed shabbily and were tough looking, more like bandits but from the expensive fur covering this baby; he must have come from a rich family. I wondered if the baby’s family had been attacked by the bandits and then had been rescued by the killer. Whoever killed those men was a highly skilled martial arts expert because the men were all killed swiftly with a clean cut to their throats, they didn’t even have time to pull their swords out of their scabbards to defend themselves!” the old man reported.

“He is such a beautiful baby,” the old woman cooed to the little angel, “I think we should keep him.”

“I think we should find out who his parents were and then bring him home to his parents. We cannot just keep someone’s baby without trying to reunite him with his parents,” the old man tried to reason with his wife.

The old woman picked up her sword and had it pointed to the old man’s neck, “I said that we keep the baby, if his parents couldn’t keep their child safe, then they do not deserve to keep him. If you can defeat me, we will have it your way.”

The old man sighed at his wife’s stubbornness. Forty years of being married to the old woman had taught the old man when to stop fighting and do things according to his wife’s wishes, “Alright, we will keep him around while we look for his parents. At least to let them know that the baby was safe.”

Meanwhile, sixty miles away a young girl was struggling to get away from the rider who had kidnapped her. They were riding fast and furious towards the border and the rider was getting impatient with her struggling and pulled the galloping horse to a stop, almost causing both of them to topple over. He then sealed the furious young girl’s pressure points, and ignored the deep scratches, which started to bleed where she had marked him with her long fingernails. He looked into her expressive eyes, which were brimming with tears and felt a tug of his heartstrings. He shook his head to clear his mind; he could not afford to be softhearted. He had to bring her back to his country to prevent the bloodshed that was to follow if she ran to the man she had been secretly pining for. She was his wife and she would remain his wife till the end of her days!

Chapter 2

One year Ago

Two very handsome young men were fighting ferociously in the open meadows. The blades of their swords flashed in the sunlight, displaying a magical but dangerous dance of silver light accompanied by the melodious but ominous song of death when they clashed as the two combatants fought ferociously for their honor and the love of their lives. The two men parried back and forth for over five hundred stances, both equally matched in their martial arts skills. Each man was frustrated that he could not defeat his opponent.

Suddenly a very beautiful young girl wearing a yellow and white heavily embroidered gown raced across the meadow towards the two combatants. An older woman ran after the young girl and pleaded breathlessly, “Princess Sin Mei, Your Royal Highness! Please come back! It is too dangerous, please come back!”

The young girl ignored her nanny’s warnings and calls and continued her way towards the two young men, she held up her long skirt to run faster. The two men were engrossed in their deadly duel and ignored the young girl. Suddenly Princess Sin Mei tripped and fell, “Ouch, my ankle!” tears of pain rolled down her face as she grimaced and held onto her injured leg.

On hearing her cries of pain one of the men turned his head, momentarily distracted and his opponent took the opportunity and knocked the sword out of his hand. The opponent quickly pointed his sword at the disarmed man’s neck. Princess Sin Mei saw the danger the disarmed man was in and cried out, “Prince Wen Lun, please don’t hurt Prince Xin Lung.” Princess Sin Mei got up and hobbled painfully on one leg over to the two men.

“Princess Sin Mei, you have to leave. Today Xin Lung and I are dueling to the death. We have to fight for our honor and for you,” Prince Wen Lun explained the situation to Princess Sin Mei, with a warning in his voice for her not to interfere.

“Prince Wen Lun, Prince Xin Lung is your best friend and sworn brother, you have known each other since you were children. Please don’t break your friendship over me,” Princess Sin Mei tried to diffuse the situation.

“Xia Wen Lun, go ahead and kill me. I may have lost the fight but I haven’t lost my pride. I am not going to allow a girl to beg for mercy on my behalf,” Prince Xin Lung declared bravely, closing his eyes in anticipation of his death.

“Prince Xin Lung, please listen to me. You do not have to fight for my honor. I was lying. Prince Wen Lun did not rape me. I knew it was he but I was ashamed of my behavior and I meant to hurt him for confronting me about it. Please do not sacrifice your life and your friendship with him over me. I will tell my father about my relationship with Prince Wen Lun and will ask my father to allow me to marry Prince Wen Lun,” Princess Sin Mei lied as she looked at the man she loved with her whole heart.

Princess Sin Mei knew that Prince Xin Lung was a proud man and would not appreciate her help so she had to tell that lie. Her nanny had told her about the two princes’ duel early that morning and she had raced to the dueling site to stop their fight. She felt guilty because the two young men were dueling because of her.

Prince Xin Lung looked at Princess Sin Mei with contempt for her lies and dishonorable accusation against his sworn brother. Prince Xin Lung turned to Prince Wen Lun, “Wen Lun, I am sorry for challenging you to this duel. I am sorry for doubting your integrity and honor. You have bested me in our duel and if you want to kill me, I will not defend myself.”

Prince Wen Lun turned to his sworn brother and gave him a hug, “It is alright, Xin Lung. I am sorry for fighting with you. You are my best friend and my sworn brother; I hate to fight with you. Please accept my apologies.”

The two young men hugged each other and made up. Prince Xin Lung nodded to Princess Sin Mei politely and left her with Prince Wen Lun. Princess Sin Mei looked at Prince Xin Lung’s receding back with tears in her eyes. Prince Wen Lung took her in his arms gently, “I am sorry Princess Sin Mei. I didn’t know that you do not love me and that you were too drunk when we slept together. I want to thank you for your sacrifice today by lying to Prince Xin Lung to save his life. I don’t want to kill my best friend and sworn brother. I knew that he would have insisted to continue to fight for your honor and he was no match for me in martial arts.” Prince Wen Lung stated the obvious without arrogance.

Princess Sin Mei wept uncontrollably for her loss and her unrequited love for Prince Xin Lung. She knew that Prince Xin Lung would never forgive her for lying and accusing his sworn brother of committing an act of aggression against her. She could not hold Prince Wen Lun solely responsible for the mistake they both made. She realized that she was wrong to use Prince Wen Lun’s love for her to make Prince Xin Lung jealous. That day on the meadows Princess Sin Mei matured and learned to accept responsibility for her actions.

Chapter 3

Prince Chu Xin Lung was eighteen, the only son of King Chu from the neighboring country of Central Plains. Prince Chu Xin Lung was a very handsome, intelligent and quiet scholar who was only interested in history and books. King Chu wanted his son to be proficient in martial arts so he sent him to a martial arts expert, Lin Too in the country of Lu for training. However Prince Xin Lung was not very interested in martial arts so he did not put his heart into perfecting the skills and did not reach the highest level of proficiency, as he would have done otherwise.

Lin Too was a very famous martial arts expert and had many young men and young women from royal families under his tutelage. Prince Chu Xin Lung came under Lin Too’s tutelage when he was seven and though Prince Xin Lung was not his best student, Lin Too loved him very much because of his kind heart and quiet respectful manner.

Lin Too had another very handsome young man under his tutelage, Prince Xia Wen Lun from the country of Xia. Prince Wen Lun came under Lin Too’s tutelage at the same time as Prince Chu Xin Lung. Prince Wen Lun was also eighteen years old. He was very ambitious, he wanted to be the best in the martial arts world so he trained very hard and soon became the best student Lin Too ever had. Though Prince Xin Lung and Prince Wen Lun were totally different in personalities, they became best friends and sworn brothers.

Everyone got along fine until Princess Chen Sin Mei from a small country bordering the Central Plains came to visit with her uncle, Lin Too. Princess Sin Mei’s royal mother, Lin Su Sum was the sister of Lin Too. Lin Su Sum and Lin Too’s father was the famous swordsman Lin Fu. King Chen met and fell in love with Lin Su Sum and married her even though she was not of royal blood. A daughter was born to the royal couple; they named her Princess Sin Mei. Princess Sin Mei was the only child and very beautiful. She was only fifteen, immature, very willful, and very spoiled by her royal parents and used to getting her way.

Princess Sin Mei fell in love at first sight with the very handsome but quiet Prince Xin Lung but to her disappointment, Prince Xin Lung did not show any interest towards her. Princess Sin Mei was upset about the lack of interest and adoration from Prince Xin Lung and planned to invoke some jealousy and get an admission of love from Prince Xin Lung. Princess Sin Mei decided to use Prince Wen Lun for her plans. She pretended to be interested in Prince Wen Lun to make Prince Xin Lung jealous.

Prince Wen Lun had fallen in love with Princess Sin Mei at first sight. In the beginning Prince Wen Lun was a bit apprehensive that Princess Sin Mei was interested in Prince Xin Lung and that he would reciprocate her feelings. But as time passed by, Prince Xin Lung did not show any undue affection for Princess Sin Mei other than the usual reserved politeness he showed everyone around him. Prince Wen Lung sighed with relief. He did not want to fight with his best friend/sworn brother over Princess Sin Mei.

Prince Xin Lung did fall for Princess Sin Mei’s alluring beauty but he was very reserved in nature and showing emotion publicly was distasteful to him. Though he was interested in Princess Sin Mei, there was something about her that caused him to hesitate about telling her how he felt. Princess Sin Mei was very spoiled and immature and prone to throwing temper tantrums when she did not get her way. Her temperamental personality disturbed and frightened him at times. When Princess Sin Mei showed her interest in Prince Wen Lun, Prince Xin Lung was a little sad that Princess Sin Mei would not be his but he was happy for his sworn brother Prince Wen Lun. Prince Xin Lung backed off totally from Princess Sin Mei after that.

However the more Prince Xin Lung backed away from Princess Sin Mei, the more she wanted him. She did spend a lot of time with Prince Wen Lun when Prince Xin Lung refused to entertain her. One night Princess Sin Mei and Prince Wen Lun were sitting by the riverbank watching the stars in the sky. Prince Wen Lun had a jug of wine with him and Princess Sin Mei demanded to have some so he allowed her to drink some of the wine. Princess Sin Mei was drunk in no time and in her drunken state, she responded passionately to Prince Wen Lun’s kisses. Prince Wen Lun was encouraged by her passionate response and they slept together.

Princess Sin Mei was shocked that she had been intimate with Prince Wen Lun when she woke up the next morning beside Prince Wen Lun. She ran crying to her room and stayed there the whole day. Her uncle, Lin Too was worried about Princess Sin Mei when she refused to join them for breakfast. Princess Sin Mei was ashamed about the incident and planned on avoiding Prince Xin Lung and Prince Wen Lun. When Princess Sin Mei did not join them for all the meals that day, Lin Too finally went to her room to question her about odd behavior. Princess Sin Mei refused to answer her uncle’s questions. She told her uncle that she wanted to go home to her parents the following day.

That night Prince Wen Lun went to Princess Sin Mei’s room to inquire about her health and talk about what had happened between them. Prince Wen Lun also proposed marriage to Princess Sin Mei. Princess Sin Mei was very upset with Prince Wen Lun for even bringing up the subject of their night of passion. She yelled at him and accused him of taking advantage of her while she was drunk. Prince Wen Lun was shocked to hear the accusation from Princess Sin Mei. While it was true that he was very passionate towards Princess Sin Mei and he should have waited for their wedding night to consummate their relationship, Princess Sin Mei had encouraged him with her flirting, kisses and caresses for weeks. Prince Wen Lun was genuinely under the impression that Princess Sin Mei was in love with him and had wanted him by her passionate response. Princess Sin Mei denied encouraging him and accused him of rape.

Unfortunately Prince Xin Lung was passing by on his way to his room and overheard their heated argument. He was shocked at Princess Sin Mei’s accusation but he believed her. Prince Xin Lung was even more shocked to hear Princess Sin Mei telling Prince Wen Lun that she didn’t love him. Princess Sin Mei told Prince Wen Lun that she had used him to make Prince Xin Lung jealous and that she loved Prince Xin Lung. Prince Wen Lun was furious to be taken for a fool and left Princess Sin Mei in a huff.

Prince Xin Lung went on to his room but he couldn’t sleep that night. He got up in the middle of the night and went to Prince Wen Lun’s room. Prince Xin Lung paced in the courtyard outside Prince Wen Lun’s room for an hour or more. Prince Wen Lun couldn’t sleep either and came out of his bedroom to find Prince Xin Lung pacing in the courtyard outside his room. Prince Wen Lun was not aware that Prince Xin Lung had overheard his argument with Princess Sin Mei and greeted his sworn brother amicably. Prince Xin Lung accused Prince Wen Lun of being dishonorable and that he had raped an innocent girl. The two sworn brothers got into a heated argument and agreed to a duel at dawn that morning.

Chapter 4

The two sworn brothers had met at dawn to duel with each other. Princess Sin Mei’s nanny had found out about their duel to death and ran to inform her young mistress. Princess Sin Mei arrived at the dueling site in the midst of the ferocious fight. But due to her cries from pain when she fell, Prince Xin Lung was momentarily distracted and disarmed by Prince Wen Lun. Princess Sin Mei knew that Prince Xin Lung was no match for Prince Wen Lun in martial arts skills. Princess Sin Mei also knew that Prince Xin Lung was a proud man and would not appreciate her help but she wanted to save his life so she lied that she was a willing and conscious partner in the act of passion with Prince Wen Lun.

Prince Xin Lung then decided that it was no longer necessary for him to fight with his sworn brother Prince Wen Lun for her honor so he left. But Prince Wen Lun knew in his heart that Princess Sin Mei had lied to save Prince Xin Lung’s life. Prince Wen Lun did not confront Princess Sin Mei in front of Prince Xin Lung about her lie because he did not want to kill his sworn brother. Prince Wen Lun tried to comfort Princess Sin Mei as much as he could after Prince Xin Lung left them. When they arrived home, they found out from Lin Too that Prince Xin Lung had left for the Central Plains. Lin Too had advised them not to follow Prince Xin Lung or to try to persuade him to return.

Lin Too then ordered Prince Wen Lun to escort Princess Sin Mei home to her royal parents. The young couple set off for the small country the next day, accompanied by Princess Sin Mei’s nanny and a couple of escorts. Despite of having been intimate, the young couple didn’t know each other well. They got to know each other better during the journey.

Prince Wen Lun was a strong willed ambitious young man who was passionate in nature. Princess Sin Mei was young, temperamental and used to getting things done her way. One minute she was friendly but the next minute she was sulky or would throw a temper tantrum when she didn’t get her way. Prince Wen Lun did not allow himself to be swayed by tears in his decision-making, unlike Prince Xin Lung; he would not allow anyone influence his actions. He let his head and not his heart rule his actions. Prince Wen Lun would not allow Princess Sin Mei get away with just anything and Princess Sin Mei had learned to be more reasonable in her demands. The young couple got into a lot of arguments and fought over trivial things during the journey. Prince Wen Lun felt a sense of relief when they neared the capital city.

King Chen welcomed them home heartily and Prince Wen Lun was invited to stay for a couple of days. Once at home in the familiar luxurious surroundings, being waited on by all the servants, Princess Sin Mei was in a better mood and was friendlier. She would spend time showing Prince Wen Lun around in the city and countryside. They went hunting with King Chen and King Chen was impressed with Prince Wen Lun’s martial arts and hunting skills. King Chen was an astute man; he sensed the love and intimacy between the young couple, the shyness in Princess Sin Mei when Prince Wen Lun teased her. Prince Wen Lun was very patient and treated Princess Sin Mei with indulgence. King Chen felt that Princess Sin Mei was sweeter and less demanding because Prince Wen Lun had no problems setting her straight. Prince Wen Lun was also a very handsome young man and a royal prince from the country of Xia. In King Chen’s eyes, Prince Wen Lun was a good prospective husband for his willful daughter.

One day King Chen called Prince Wen Lun into his study and had proposed to allow Prince Wen Lun to marry Princess Sin Mei. Prince Wen Lun was still in love with Princess Sin Mei despite her declaration that she was in love with Prince Xin Lung. He still wanted to marry Princess Sin Mei, especially since he had been intimate with her and it was the honorable thing to do. Prince Wen Lun had agreed to the proposal and told King Chen that he would go home to his royal father King Xia to ask for permission.

When Prince Wen Lun came out of King Chen’s study, he went to see Princess Sin Mei to tell her what her royal father had proposed. However Prince Wen Lun made a mistake when he related what King Chen had said to him and it came across as a business proposal and not as a romantic gesture of a man who wanted to marry the woman he loved. Princess Sin Mei looked at Prince Wen Lun resentfully and told him that she wasn’t going to marry him because she was in love with Prince Xin Lung. Prince Wen Lun’s pride was wounded so he stomped off in a huff. Princess Sin Mei was upset that Prince Wen Lun had not made any attempts to pacify her and tell her that he loved her so she ran crying to her room.

Prince Wen Lun was very upset with Princess Sin Mei’s declaration that she was still in love with his sworn brother. He decided that he wasn’t going to stay in the palace to have his heart stomped on. He sneaked out of the palace in the middle of the night to go back to his Sifu Lin Too.

Unbeknownst to Prince Wen Lun, Princess Sin Mei had sneaked out of the palace ahead of him. She didn’t want to stay in the palace where she might be forced to marry the arrogant Prince Wen Lun. Princess Sin Mei wandered aimlessly in the quiet city, she didn’t have a destination in mind, she wanted to be on her own for a little while. She decided to stop at a deserted temple outside the city gates for a rest. Suddenly two thugs came into the temple, they had been following Princess Sin Mei and looking for a chance to attack her. They laughed at her lewdly, “What is a pretty girl doing in this deserted temple? Were you waiting for your lover?”

Princess Sin Mei was shocked at their coarse words and disrespect, but a feeling of fear crept into her heart. She realized that she had been foolish and reckless to leave the palace by herself and knew that the thugs were going to harm her. However her arrogance kicked in and she spat in their faces before she turned to escape from the temple.

One of the thugs attacked her with his saber and soon a ferocious fight ensued. Princess Sin Mei had instructions in martial arts but she was not proficient in it. Soon she was on the losing end and one of the thugs tackled her to the ground. Princess Sin Mei was on the ground fighting desperately for her honor and her life, with the thugs tearing at her clothes. Suddenly they heard a roar and Princess Sin Mei felt something wet and warm splashed onto her face and heard a tortured moan. She opened her eyes to see Prince Wen Lun killing the last thug with his sword. She was covered in the blood of her attackers and as she looked at the blood on her hands and clothes, she started to tremble with shock. All she could do was to hug herself, her teeth were chattering and she couldn’t stop trembling.

Earlier on Prince Wen Lun was passing by when he heard sounds of fighting in the deserted temple. He went towards the temple to investigate and saw Princess Sin Mei on the ground with the two thugs tearing at her clothes. Prince Wen Lun flew into a rage when he saw his beloved being attacked. With a roar, he stormed into the temple and killed the two thugs. He pulled the thug who had slumped onto Princess Sin Mei in his death away from her. At first he was shocked to see Princess Sin Mei covered in blood, but on closer inspection he found that it was blood from the thugs. He took Princess Sin Mei in his arms protectively. With soothing words of comfort Prince Wen Lun tried to calm Princess Sin Mei down.

It took Princess Sin Mei a long time to calm down but Prince Wen Lun was very patient with her, talking to her softly, reassuring her of her safety and that he would always protect her with his life. When Princess Sin Mei finally calmed down, she thanked Prince Wen Lun gratefully. Prince Wen Lun took Princess Sin Mei back to the palace and together they jumped stealthily onto the roof and crept back to Princess Sin Mei’s rooms. Princess Sin Mei cleaned herself up and went out to sit with Prince Wen Lun who had been waiting in the courtyard. They had a long honest conversation where they discussed their feelings for each other. Princess Sin Mei shyly admitted that she had fallen in love with Prince Wen Lun. However she was reluctant to let him know her feelings because of his arrogance and lack of romantic and loving gestures. Prince Wen Lun promised to be more loving towards Princess Sin Mei and that she would always be the most important person in his life. The young couple kissed and made up.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 5

Prince Wen Lun married Princess Sin Mei in a lavish wedding ceremony a month later. Prince Xin Lung was invited to the wedding ceremony and he attended without showing any hard feelings. Prince Xin Lung was genuinely happy for his sworn brother. He had made up his mind that Princess Sin Mei was off limits the moment he knew that Princess Sin Mei had been intimate with Prince Wen Lun and that she would become his sister-in-law.

After a couple of weeks of celebration, Prince Xin Lung went back to the Central Plains. King Chu of the Central Plains wanted Prince Xin Lung to marry a distant cousin, Lady Rose. Lady Rose was a very beautiful young girl who was madly in love with the handsome Prince Xin Lung. Lady Rose came from a powerful family who controlled a large part of army in the southern part of the Central Plains. When Prince Xin Lung married Lady Rose, an alliance would be formed with her family and King Chu’s influence and power would be more stable. Prince Xin Lung was easy going and a filial son to King Chu. Since Prince Xin Lung had no love interest, after losing Princess Sin Mei to Prince Wen Lun, he had agreed to marry Lady Rose for the sakes of the citizens of the Central Plains and to help his father.

Prince Wen Lun and Princess Sin Mei were invited to Prince Xin Lung’s wedding to Lady Rose. Everyone could see that Lady Rose was deeply in love with Prince Xin Lung but the same could not be said of Prince Xin Lung. Prince Xin Lung was not affectionate towards Lady Rose; in fact he acted rather coldly and distant to her.

Prince Wen Lun pulled his sworn brother to the side and asked him directly the reason for his coldness. Prince Xin Lung told his sworn brother that he did not marry Lady Rose for love but as a duty to his country. Only then did Prince Wen Lun realize that Prince Xin Lung had loved Princess Sin Mei but had backed off once Prince Xin Lung knew that Princess Sin Mei had been intimate with him. Prince Xin Lung told Prince Wen Lun that their relationship as sworn brothers was more important than the love of a woman. Prince Xin Lung also told a shocked Prince Wen Lun that he knew that Princess Sin Mei had told a lie that day at the dueling site but he had not confronted her because it was ungallant to expose a lady as a liar especially she had told the lie to save his life.

Prince Wen Lun was sad for Prince Xin Lung, Princess Sin Mei and himself. If Prince Wen Lun could turn the clock back he would not have gotten involved with Princess Sin Mei. However it was too late for the three of them since Princess Sin Mei was his wife and she was pregnant with his heir. Fate had intervened and Prince Wen Lun was not going to give up his wife. Prince Wen Lun took Princess Sin Mei home with him the next day. He didn’t tell Princess Sin Mei what Prince Xin Lung had revealed to him but he thought about it often. They never went back to the Central Plains to visit Prince Xin Lung and Prince Xin Lung never came to the country of Xia to visit them. Prince Wen Lun did not trust Princess Sin Mei near Prince Xin Lung because he knew that Prince Xin Lung and Princess Sin Mei loved each other deeply even though they would not reveal their love for each other openly.

Princess Sin Mei gave birth to a very beautiful baby boy. King Xia and Prince Wen Lun were extremely happy with the birth of the royal heir to the Kingdom of Xia. However Princess Sin Mei was indifferent to the baby. She wouldn’t play with the baby or even hold him more than necessary though she would feed him out of duty. She sat in a corner, daydreaming and crying silent tears every day. Princess Sin Mei was suffering from postpartum depression.

Prince Wen Lun and the others were not aware of such a health/mental condition. Prince Wen Lun was under the false impression that Princess Sin Mei was unhappy to have a baby with him instead of with Prince Xin Lung. Prince Wen Lun was furious and jealous. The baby was the one to suffer from the lack of love from his mother. He was a good baby and very intelligent, it was almost as if he sensed his mother’s depression and seldom cried in order not to aggravate her condition.

Prince Wen Lun was getting frustrated with Princess Sin Mei and her depression. The young royal couple would quarrel and fight over trivial matters daily. One day Princess Sin Mei had another fight with Prince Wen Lun and ran crying to her room. Prince Wen Lun stomped off in the opposite direction instead of going after Princess Sin Mei to placate her. Princess Sin Mei was convinced that Prince Wen Lun was no longer in love with her.

That night Princess Sin Mei ordered her maid to take the royal baby and followed her out of the palace. Once out of the palace gate, Princess Sin Mei bought two horses and rode away from the Capital with the maid carrying the baby on the other horse. Princess Sin Mei was a more proficient rider than her maid and rode slightly ahead. They were two days into the journey towards Princess Sin Mei’s homeland when they rode into a big storm. Princess Sin Mei got separated from her maid and the baby.

The trail Princess Sin Mei had taken was dangerous because there were many groups of bandits preying on travelers. Robbery was a common occurrence and many bandits would not shy from killing their victims. Princess Sin Mei was frantic when she was separated from her maid and the baby. She tried to double back to find them but took the wrong turn and was riding in the direction towards the Central Plains. Suddenly four men on horses were riding swiftly towards her. From their coarse clothing and mean looks, they were bandits who terrorized the area and they were looking for their next victim.

Princess Sin Mei was alarmed and tried to ride away from them but her horse was slow. Soon the four riders chased Princess Sin Mei and they were gaining on her when Princess Sin Mei saw a lone rider riding towards them swiftly. She panicked, no matter which direction she turned she was surrounded. As the lone rider neared her, she recognized that he was Prince Wen Lun. She was happy and relieved that Prince Wen Lun had come to rescue her. As soon as Prince Wen Lun reached them, he had his sword unsheathed and slashed at the men’s throats swiftly, one by one the bandits fell dead from their horses without having the opportunity to defend themselves.

Prince Wen Lun then grabbed the reins of Princess Sin Mei’s horse.

Chapter 6

Prince Wen Lun glared and yelled at Princess Sin Mei furiously, “How dare you betray me? You are my wife and you will remain my wife forever. I will kill you first before I let you go to Xin Lung.”

Princess Sin Mei was just as angry, “How dare you accuse me of being unfaithful and betraying you? You don’t love me or even want me any more so why should I stay with you? I was going back to my father and not to Prince Xin Lung. If you remember, Prince Xin Lung is married to Lady Rose!”

“I don’t think him being a married man would stop you from wanting to be with him. Ever since we had been married, you had only Xin Lung in your heart as you were in his. You were even unhappy that our son was not from Xin Lung and that was the reason you couldn’t love our son!” Prince Wen Lun accused Princess Sin Mei.

“Now you are accusing me of being a bad mother? How dare you! I had carried the baby in me for nine months and he had been part of me! I had been feeling depressed and I had tried my best but I couldn’t shake off my depression. You were not helping me either by being mean and impatient with me. I am not going to put up with your impatience and temper. I hate you! I am going back to my father and I don’t ever want to see you ever again!” Princess Sin Mei snatched the reins from Prince Wen Lun and urged her horse to gallop away.

Prince Wen Lun gave chase immediately. Prince Wen Lun’s horse was a prize stallion while the horse that Princess Sin Mei bought was an old horse. Soon Prince Wen Lun caught up with Princess Sin Mei and brought her horse to a halt. He leaned over and grabbed her off her old horse and put her onto his stallion. He slapped the rump of the old horse and it galloped away.

Princess Sin Mei was furious with Prince Wen Lun’s high-handedness so she hit him on his face. Princess Sin Mei managed to slap Prince Wen Lun hard across his face because both his hands were occupied with controlling his horse and holding onto her. Prince Wen Lun’s head snapped back from the blow and he was furious. Princess Sin Mei was struggling desperately to get away from Prince Wen Lun but he held onto her tight. He managed to bring his stallion to a halt and then sealed her pressure points. Prince Wen Lun looked at the woman he loved with his whole heart, he saw the hate and fury in her eyes and felt the desperate struggles she had put up to escape from him.

After their last quarrel at the palace, Prince Wen Lun had stormed off to a nearby monastery to see his Sifu Lin Too who was visiting his friend Din Hung Dai Si. Lin Too was happy to see Prince Wen Lun and they chatted for a long time. Lin Too sensed his student’s unhappiness. After gentle persuasion from Lin Too, Prince Wen Lun confided in his Sifu about his dilemma with his wife’s love for his sworn brother and vice versa.

Lin Too knew Prince Xin Lung’s character well. Lin Too told Prince Wen Lun that Prince Xin Lung was an honorable man and that Prince Xin Lung would never overstep the boundaries and betray Prince Wen Lun. Lin Too had known for a long time that Prince Xin Lung was in love with Princess Sin Mei but Prince Xin Lung had held back because of his respect and love for Prince Wen Lun. Prince Xin Lung had no intention of fighting with his sworn brother over Princess Sin Mei. Prince Xin Lung had challenged Prince Wen Lun to that duel because he believed that Prince Wen Lun had dishonored Princess Sin Mei. Once he knew the truth, he had decided to leave Lin Too’s house to stay away from Princess Sin Mei.

Lin Too also told Prince Wen Lun that Prince Xin Lung was not suitable to be a husband to Princess Sin Mei because she was too temperamental and willful. Prince Xin Lung was quiet and reserved by nature; he could love a person deeply but he was unable to demonstrate his love openly and passionately. Lin Too told Prince Wen Lun that he was more suitable to be a husband to Princess Sin Mei because of his strength and passionate nature and that he should fight for his marriage. Prince Wen Lun thanked his Sifu for his advice and decided to stay a night before going back to the palace.

When Prince Wen arrived back at the palace he found out that Princess Sin Mei had left him so he rushed out to find her. He finally caught up with Princess Sin Mei when the four bandits attacked her. From the direction she was riding towards, it seemed that she was heading towards the Central Plains to Prince Xin Lung. Prince Wen Lun didn’t know that Princess Sin Mei had lost her sense of direction in that storm. Prince Wen Lun was consumed with jealousy. He was very disappointed in Princess Sin Mei’s betrayal but he loved her very much and was willing to take her back at all costs.

Prince Wen Lun looked into Princess Sin Mei’s expressive eyes, which were brimming with tears and felt a tug of his heartstrings. Prince Wen Lun shook his head to clear his mind; he could not afford to be softhearted. He had to bring Princess Sin Mei back to his country to prevent the bloodshed that was to follow if she ran to the man she had been secretly pining for. Prince Wen Lun did not want to declare war on his sworn brother Prince Xin Lung and bring hardship to the people of Xia in a battle with the stronger Central Plains. Princess Sin Mei was his wife and she would remain his wife till the end of her days!

Only when they reached the palace did Prince Wen Lun find out that his heir was missing. Princess Sin Mei was unable to tell him about their son since Prince Wen Lun had sealed her pressure points. When Prince Wen Lun doubled back to look for the maid and the baby, he could only find the dead body of the maid, the baby was gone. The trail was cold and he couldn’t find out who had taken the baby or if the baby was still alive.

After being separately from her mistress, the maid had tried to ride in the direction, which she thought was right and she got more disoriented. Suddenly the old horse that she had been riding on was startled by something and veered off wildly and the maid was thrown off the horse. Luckily the baby was secured tightly to her body and was cushioned by the maid’s body when she fell. The maid continued on foot to look for her mistress. She walked a long way until she tripped and broke her ankle. She froze to death in the blizzard but the baby survived protected from the extreme cold by her body.

Chapter 7

Seven years later, in Mongolia

A tall good-looking young boy was practicing martial arts with his grandmother in the forest. They each had a sword in their hands and parried back and forth with total concentration on their stances. Suddenly the boy called out with a shocked expression, “Grandmother, watch out behind you!”

The old woman turned around to look behind her and was shocked when the young boy had used an intricate stance to knock the sword out of her hand while she was distracted and then had aimed the tip of his sword against her neck!

“Got you! Grandmother,” the young boy laughed cheekily at his grandmother.

“No, you haven’t!” the old woman used her sleeve to deflect the blade of the sword, twisted her hand and flicked at the blade of his sword with her fingers, causing it to vibrate.

The vibration was so intense, coming in strong waves and caused the young boy’s hand to become numb and with an intricate movement the grandmother had extracted the young boy’s sword from his hand, “How did you do that, Grandmother?” the young boy asked in bewilderment.

“Little Rascal, that was a good move, gaining the upper hand with a trick and I fell for it. But you were not determined enough to press ahead with the advantage you had,” the old woman admonished her grandson.

“But Grandmother, I could not hurt you intentionally with my sword. Had you been my enemy I would have acted differently,” the young boy tried to explain.

“Little Rascal, I will accept your explanation this time since we were training. In a real life situation either you do not fight and walk away or you fight with your best effort. Never fight with your opponents without doing your best to win and kill them. If you let them live, they will come back later to seek revenge and they would have the upper hand since they knew your weaknesses,” the old woman instructed the young boy.

The young boy looked at his grandmother with intelligent eyes, “I think I will walk away and not fight with anyone if I have to kill my opponent every time I am involved in a fight. I still maintained that I got you just now because I had disarmed you. Had you been my enemy I would have handled the situation differently.”

“Alright, as much as I hate to admit it, you were very cunning and had managed to trick me so you did win that round,” the old woman conceded to the young boy with a laugh. Then her tone turned serious, “Remember what I have told you, either you walk away from a fight or you do your best to kill your opponent, otherwise you will lose your credibility and respect from the rest of the martial arts world.”

“What is it like in the Mo Lam?” the young boy asked his grandmother curiously.

“It is a world full of fools who thought they were better than every one else just because they were skilled in martial arts. They tried to pass judgment on others and punished those who did not toe the line they drew or obey the rules they set. The point was who gave these martial arts experts the right to judge others? I can agree that each country should have a set of laws, which the citizens have to abide to in order to maintain peace, order and civilization. Other than that I do not believe anyone had the right to dictate how others should live their lives. As long as you had not hurt anyone with your actions and that you had a clear conscience, you do not have to adhere to any rules set by those fools. That is the reason it is so important for you to excel in your martial arts skills, if any of those fools tried to dictate to you, kill them and there won’t be any one to bother you and interfere with your life,” the old woman instructed the young boy who had stared at her with eyes opened wide in wonderment.

The young boy nodded with understanding though not in total agreement with his grandmother. He had learned from a young age that his grandmother was an eccentric person, her moods were hard to grasp, her logics were twisted but she was the most loving grandmother in the world. She spoiled him terribly and his wellbeing had always been her utmost priority and he loved her very much.

They stopped practicing martial arts for the day and walked home together, chatting amicably. An old man with white hair and white beard came out of hiding to stare after them. He shook his head and vowed to set the young boy straight when it was his turn to practice martial arts with the young boy the following day. The old man wanted the young boy to grow up normally and treat others with compassion. The young boy would grow up to be as eccentric as his grandmother if he was allowed to adopt the old woman’s twisted logic. The old man swore to set the young boy straight as soon as he had the chance.

Chapter 8

The following day the young boy went with his grandfather into the forests to collect herbs. The young boy’s grandfather was an expert in herbal medicine and the young boy was taught the art of healing with herbs as he followed his grandfather around. The young boy was unusually quiet with a serious look on his face as though there was something on his mind.

The old man went over to an old tree stump and sat on it, wiping his sweat. The young boy went to sit on the ground beside his grandfather. The grandfather looked at the young boy who was still deep in thought, “Little Rascal, what are you thinking about so seriously that I am beginning to miss your endless chatter and you know I enjoyed the tranquility when I collect herbs?”

The young boy sighed, “Grandfather, would you and Grandmother be very angry with me if I said that I have decided to stop learning and practicing martial arts?”

The old man was shocked for a moment but he understood almost immediately the reason for the young boy’s question. The old man looked thoughtfully at the young boy and asked with concern, “What prompted you to make such a decision? I would not be angry with you but I would like to know the reason and we can discuss it rationally.”

“Grandfather, I do not want to learn martial arts anymore because I do not want to kill anyone. Grandmother told me that I have to do my best to kill my opponent in any fights so that he could not return to take revenge on my family or me. Although I can understand her reasoning I don’t think it is wrong to show compassion and mercy to my opponents. I do not want to be called a coward and walk away from any provocation or challenges but I do not want to indulge in senseless killing either,” the young boy tried to explain to his grandfather.

“Little Rascal, you are indeed matured in your thought process and reasoning. You do not have to kill everyone you fought with; sometimes it is possible to become friends with our opponents. Walking away from a fight is not considered to be cowardice and the ability to show mercy indicates the greatness, strength and generosity of a person’s character,” the old man told the young boy.

“Grandfather, have you ever walked away from a fight?” the young boy asked.

“I had never walked away from a fight but then not many people had dared to challenge me or even provoke me to fight with them. I did kill quite a number of men, if that was what you were asking. They deserved to die because they were scumbags and bullies who committed atrocious crimes against people who were defenseless. I did not kill anyone for fun or just because I could. I tried to mind my own business but sometimes I had no choice,” the old man explained.

“Grandfather you must have been a respected hero in the Mo Lam for your good deeds and help rendered to those in need,” the young boy remarked with pride.

“No, Little Rascal, I had never considered myself or was regarded by others as a hero. I lacked the idealism to be the hero or Good Samaritan. I just wanted to live my life with your grandmother peacefully without interference from others. I never went out of my way to help others or to challenge them to fights but because of our unconventional lifestyles and beliefs, your grandmother and I were considered as eccentrics. Due to our high level of martial arts skills, people were afraid to provoke us so they avoided us and left us alone. That suited us perfectly as we were able to live quietly without interference,” the old man explained.

“It would not have mattered if I do not know martial arts since I intend to live a quiet life here with you and grandmother,” the young boy decided.

“Sometimes things do not work out the way you wanted them to. Even if you had stayed in an isolated place, you could still be drawn into the chaotic world beyond by chance and you should be prepared. One day you are going to have a family of your own and you would want to be able to protect them. To possess good martial arts skill is a good thing, especially if you excelled in it. No doubt it could also be a double-edged sword; it is what you do with your martial arts skill that determined the outcome. You do not have to go around challenging people to fights and you would not be challenged if you excelled in it,” the old man told his grandson.

“Little Rascal, I see a lot of potential in you, I have a gut feeling that you were destined to do great things in the world. When I looked into your eyes, I see idealism, greatness and compassion; you will not stand on the sideline without wanting to help those in need. If you are still determined to quit practicing martial arts, I will not force you. However I would advise you to continue because you have a weak disposition so you need to build up your physique,” the old man advised his grandson.

The old man and his wife had unconventional beliefs. The young boy would normally not have a choice but to obey his grandparents but his grandfather trusted him to make the right decision so he was allowed to choose his own path. In the end the young boy decided to continue practicing martial arts skills with his grandparents and learning the art of healing with herbs from his grandfather. The young boy did not forget his grandfather’s words and often wondered if he was really destined to do great things for others. He decided that he would not use his martial arts skills to harm others but to protect his family and his loved ones and to help those who were defenseless. He promised his grandparents that he would work hard to excel in martial arts skills to make them proud of him.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 9

Ten Years Later

A very handsome young man was kneeling in front of a grave, with his head bowed. He had just said a silent prayer and goodbye to his grandmother. An old man with white hair and beard was standing behind the young man, his head bowed in grief. He touched the young man lightly on his shoulders, “Kiu Wai, let’s go home. Grandmother wouldn’t want you to stay out in the cold and get sick.”

The young man with tears rolling down his cheeks looked up at the old man, “Grandfather, I would like to stay here a little longer with Grandmother. You should go home first, looks like a blizzard is coming.”

“Alright, I will let you stay a little longer with your Grandmother. Don’t stay too long, the blizzard is going to be a big one and we would probably be stuck in the house for a while,” with that the old man turned to walk in the direction of his house.

A pretty young girl came out from behind the bushes as soon as the old man walked out of sight. She had on an expensive fur suit and an elaborately embroidered fur lined cap with strings of real pearls sewn across it. She walked over to the young man, “Kiu Wai, I am sorry for your loss.”

The young man did not answer her, his head bowed in silent grief. The young girl was angry that the young man did not greet or answer her, “Liang Kiu Wai, I have already apologized, what more do you expect from me?”

The young man turned to look at the young girl with reproach, “Princess Siong Siong, please have respect for my late grandmother in front of her grave and stop yelling.”

“I am sorry, Kiu Wai. I did not mean to yell but I was so frustrated that you would not even come to see me after all the invitations sent to you. Won’t you forgive me or do you hate me that much?” the young girl asked fearfully. Princess Siong Siong knew that Kiu Wai was a filial grandson and loved his grandparents very much. She was afraid that Kiu Wai would hate her and she would never see him again.

“Princess Siong Siong. There was nothing to forgive. It was an accident. However I hope you will understand that my family is grieving and you will keep your distance. I do not want my grandfather to become upset,” Kiu Wai told Princess Siong Siong firmly.

Princess Siong Siong was the only child of the Great Khan from Mongolia. She was sixteen and very beautiful. There were many rich eligible suitors vying for her attention and hand in marriage but Princess Siong Siong was in love with the handsome but poor Liang Kiu Wai who lived with his grandparents in a small hut on the outskirts of the Capital.

Princess Siong Siong was six and Kiu Wai was eight when they first met. Princess Siong Siong was with her father on one of his hunting trips when she slipped away from her bodyguards. She had wandered alone and was in the open plains when a terrible storm hit. Kiu Wai who was on his way home found Princess Siong Siong lost and crying in the open plains, not knowing how to protect herself. Kiu Wai pushed her down and protected her by covering her body with his own. The Khan’s soldiers found them alive but unconscious after the storm had passed.

The Great Khan was grateful that Kiu Wai had saved his daughter’s life and would have given him a large reward but Kiu Wai’s grandparents had declined to accept anything from the Great Khan. However they could not stop Princess Siong Siong from visiting Kiu Wai. The children formed an easy friendship and as they grew older, Princess Siong Siong fell deeply in love with Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai on the other hand treated Princess Siong Siong as his little sister.

Kiu Wai had lived with his grandparents in Mongolia for as long as he could remember. Kiu Wai had a weak disposition and a tendency to get sick easily. His grandparents were martial arts experts and had used their expertise to try to help him but they were not very successful. Kiu Wai would have died long ago but his grandparents had transferred their internal energies daily to him to build up his strength and prolong his life.

One day Kiu Wai’s grandmother was in the midst of transferring her internal energy to Kiu Wai when Princess Siong Siong burst into their house and disturbed both of their concentration. Princess Siong Siong had had a fight with Kiu Wai the previous day over some trivial matters and she came to get an apology from Kiu Wai but she had come at an inopportune time and caused both Kiu Wai and his grandmother to suffer from fire deviation. Princess Siong Siong was very frightened when she saw that she had caused them to get injured and ran to get help.

Kiu Wai’s grandfather was on his way home when he saw a distraught Princess Siong Siong running towards him. Princess Siong Siong told him what had happened and Kiu Wai’s grandfather rushed home to find his wife and grandson unconscious on the floor. He ordered Princess Siong Siong to leave the premises and began to try to heal their injuries. He was unable to help his wife because she was old and her injuries were too severe and she died in his arms. He managed to transfer his internal energy to Kiu Wai and revived him.

Although it was an accident, Princess Siong Siong had felt guilty and had not dare to visit Kiu Wai. She had hidden herself secretly in the bushes when they buried Kiu Wai’s grandmother. Princess Siong Siong waited till Kiu Wai’s grandfather had left before coming out to see Kiu Wai. She understood that Kiu Wai was grieving and had promised to give him space and time to grieve. She left after getting a promise from Kiu Wai that he would contact her.

After another hour, Kiu Wai got up and walked home slowly. It was getting colder and the snow was getting thicker. The huge blizzard blew in as expected just as he reached his grandfather’s hut.

Chapter 10

As soon as Kiu Wai stepped into the house, Kiu Wai’s grandfather had sealed his pressure points and sat him down. Kiu Wai’s grandfather then placed a pill into Kiu Wai’s mouth and forced Kiu Wai to swallow it. After that Kiu Wai’s grandfather started to transfer his internal energy to Kiu Wai but there was a difference in the way the energy was being transferred. Kiu Wai was in a lot of pain as the surge of energy broke through many blocked pressure points to make complete circulation throughout Kiu Wai’s body. Kiu Wai was sweating and screamed silently as he suffered through the torture of having all his nerve ends stimulated; he almost fainted from the intense pain. Kiu Wai felt like he was burning from inside as the powerful surge of internal energy broke through the last barrier right between his eyes. Kiu Wai saw a bright splash of light and fainted.

Hours later, Kiu Wai woke up to a dark room; he was still lying on the floor. Kiu Wai turned around to look for his grandfather and found his grandfather lying a couple of feet away from him. Kiu Wai crawled up with difficulty to his grandfather. He was grateful to see that his grandfather was still breathing. Kiu Wai gathered the blankets and covered his grandfather whose skin was cold and his breathing shallow and weak. Kiu Wai built up the fire in the stove and kept his grandfather as warm as possible.

Kiu Wai’s grandfather woke up early in the morning. Kiu Wai who had been nodding off woke up as soon as he heard his grandfather calling out to him weakly, “Kiu Wai, come over here, I need to tell you something important.”

Kiu Wai went over to kneel besides his grandfather and asked with concern, “Grandfather, what had happened? Are you alright?”

Kiu Wai’s grandfather looked at Kiu Wai with tears in his eyes, it was time for him to say goodbye to the beloved young man whom he had helped to raise since he brought him home seventeen years ago. Kiu Wai had been a filial grandson and had brought a lot of joy to both him and his late wife in their golden years. Now that his wife is dead, it is time to tell Kiu Wai the truth, “Kiu Wai, I have something to tell you. First I want you to bring me that wooden box that was under your grandmother’s bed.”

Kiu Wai complied and went to get that old wooden box as ordered and brought it back to his grandfather. Kiu Wai’s grandfather opened the box and brought out a fur coat that would fit a small child and a carved jade amulet and handed the jade amulet to Kiu Wai, “You were wearing this jade amulet when I found you seventeen years ago and now I want you to have it back.” Kiu Wai took the jade amulet and turned it over, a single Chinese character Xia was inscribed on it.

“Grandfather, I don’t understand. What do you mean that you found me? Am I not your biological grandson?” Kiu Wai asked with bewilderment.

“No Kiu Wai, you are not my biological grandson. I found you in the forest near the border of the Central Plains seventeen years ago. You were wearing this fur coat and were in the arms of a maid, protected from a blizzard as bad as the one we are having now. She died from hypothermia but she had kept you alive with her body. I found four mean looking thugs killed in the vicinity where I found you. I don’t know what had happened. There were no other survivors so I took you home to your Grandmother. We did not have any children and your Grandmother wanted to keep you. I had objected at first but your Grandmother had her heart set on keeping you so I relented to make her happy. We moved away from that area to Mongolia soon after and had been staying here ever since,” Kiu Wai’s grandfather told Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai took some time to digest what his grandfather had told him, “Who am I?”

Chapter 11

“I don’t know who you were. We named you Kiu Wai and gave you our name Liang,” Kiu Wai’s grandfather told him.

“Grandfather, why are you telling me this now?” Kiu Wai asked puzzled that his grandfather would reveal such a secret to him after all these years.

“Kiu Wai, I am telling you this because I do not have much time left. I had agreed to keep you because your grandmother wanted to have someone to keep her company. Now that she is gone, I do not want to keep this secret. I know that it was wrong to keep you all these years without trying to find your biological parents but I loved your grandmother dearly. She had not been happy that she was unable to conceive. She wanted to have a child very much. I wanted to please her so I had agreed to let her keep you.

You had been sickly since you were an infant probably because of the exposure to the blizzard. We started to transfer our internal energies to you to build up your health but unfortunately the internal energy that your grandmother transferred to you was tainted with the poison in her body system. The poison had entered your body system, causing you to be sick. Your grandmother did not intentionally try to harm you but she practiced a special kind of martial arts that involved poison. That was the reason we took turns to transfer our internal energies to you, mine was to neutralize the harm that hers had done to you. The pill I had given you earlier was the antidote to the poison in your body system that your grandmother had transferred to you. The poison from your grandmother’s internal energy will remain dormant in your body system, it will no longer harm you but it could kill your opponents when you used it.

Now that your grandmother is gone, you are the only one besides me who can heal anyone you may injure with that internal energy. Unfortunately just before your grandmother fainted with her injury, she subconsciously used her last strength to transfer almost all of her internal energy to you and it is irreversible. You have to be careful when you use that internal energy because it is lethal but you will know the difference and will be able to control it. Your grandmother was feared in the Mo Lam because she had used her martial arts skills to injure and kill those who had offended her. I was able to neutralize the poison and helped those who were injured by her when we were still living in the Central Plains. Ever since we moved to Mongolia, your grandmother had become mellower because of you and had not hurt anyone.

I have no use for any of my internal energy because soon I would be joining your grandmother. That was the reason I had given you all my internal energy during the transfer just now. The combined internal energies that your grandmother and I had given you would remain dormant in your body system until you choose to use it. Because you have our combined internal energies in your body system, you would no longer be sickly. However you have to meditate every day to harmonize the two different internal energies otherwise you would suffer a lot of pain.

The martial arts stances that we had taught you were unique. When you go back to the Central Plains, it would be difficult to find a person who could defeat you when you used those stances in combination with the internal energies from us. We were known as the Northern Heretical Duo in the Mo Lam. We were not considered either as the Righteous Clan or the Evil Clan. We had killed members from both clans when they tried to question our unconventional beliefs and lifestyles. Both the Righteous Clan and the Evil Clan in the Mo Lam feared us.

I am not sure if you should take after our footsteps, as you are very different from us. You are intelligent and levelheaded; you have honor, love, compassion, patience, loyalty, and a generous and forgiving spirit. You would make a great leader. Promise me that you will not use your martial arts skills in an evil way to harm others but you would use it to help those who were weak and poor. Maybe that would atone for some of our sins and wrongdoings.

I want you to know the truth before I die. I want you to go back to the Central Plains to look for your biological parents. The jade amulet would be a clue; your family name must have been Xia. You should change your name back to Xia. You must have come from a rich family, judging by the expensive fur-coat you had on at that time. You should start your search in the Capital of the Central Plains. I also want you to forgive us for keeping you away from your biological parents,” Kiu Wai’s grandfather told him, he had tears streaming down his wrinkled face.

“Grandfather, please don’t worry. I promise to use my martial arts skills to help the weak and poor. There wasn’t anything to forgive. You had saved my life and had been good to me all these years. I am grateful for all that you and Grandmother had done for me. I loved you both and though I could never repay you both for raising me I am glad that I was able to bring some joy to Grandmother’s life. You are my remaining relative. Please don’t leave me. I want to stay here with you. I don’t want to go to the Central Plains to find my biological parents. Who knows if my parents were still alive or if they wanted me at all? They didn’t try to find me,” Kiu Wai told his grandfather as he hugged the older man.

“Kiu Wai, you have to promise me to go back to the Central Plains to find your parents. I felt guilty for keeping you away from them all these years. Please convey my sincere apology to them. Kiu Wai, I am not sure if your parents had not tried to find you. We moved away from that area soon after we took you in. I am also sorry to have to leave you. I had been feeling unwell for the past couple of months and the only thing that had kept me alive was my high internal energy. I had given all my internal energy to you. I am very tired. I missed your grandmother and I want to join her. You take care of yourself and be an honest, compassionate and righteous person,” with that Kiu Wai’s grandfather lapsed into unconsciousness. He passed away peacefully without ever regaining consciousness.

Kiu Wai was devastated by first the death of his beloved grandmother and then his grandfather’s sacrifice for him so that he could be healthy and strong. He was shocked to learn that they were not his biological grandparents. Kiu Wai swore that he would fulfill his grandfather’s wishes to find his biological parents and to be a righteous person in the Mo Lam. Kiu Wai buried his grandfather besides his grandmother the next day. He packed a couple change of clothing, his sword, some silver nuggets and left Mongolia on a horse for the Central Plains. He did not say goodbye to Princess Siong Siong.

Chapter 12

Kiu Wai was walking with his horse along the main street of a busy border town, he was caught up with the hustle bustle and the noise of people bargaining for the best deals at the various stalls overflowing with fur, silk cloths and jewelry; poultry and meats at the butcher stalls; rice, grains, eggs, tea leaves and spices at the grocery stalls and much more. Kiu Wai had led a secluded life with his elderly grandparents in a remote village in Mongolia and such activities overwhelmed and yet excited him. Kiu Wai was making his way to a restaurant/inn when he saw a drunken man pulling a young girl’s arm, intending to force her to leave with him. An older woman was trying to stop the man from abducting the young girl.

Kiu Wai saw the frightened look on the girl’s pretty face as she resisted the drunken man’s attempt to take her with him. Kiu Wai stepped into the path of the drunken man and forced him to stop in his tracks. “Ge, get out of my way,” the drunken man ordered, his speech slurred.

“Let go of the girl!” Kiu Wai ordered, but the drunken man refused to comply and instead had aimed a fist at Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai raised his arm to block the blow and used his palm to hit the drunken man on his chest and the drunken man fell like a log to the ground, unconscious.

The drunken man had his hand on the girl when Kiu Wai hit him and as the drunken man fell, he pulled the girl down with him. Kiu Wai bent down to help the young girl up and as he stared into her beautiful eyes, her beauty captivated him, he asked her with a warm smile, “Miss, are you alright?”

“I am fine, thank you for helping me,” the pretty girl answered with a shy smile.

The older woman who was with the young girl came towards them and kowtowed to Kiu Wai, “Thank you, Young Master for helping us. The drunken man tried to take my daughter Yuen Li Xiang with him without paying us,” and spat on the unconscious man.

Kiu Wai was shocked that the older woman had so casually admitted to selling her daughter, “You were going to sell your daughter to the drunken man?’

“Yes, Young Master, my husband died yesterday and we needed the money to bury him. We had been kneeling in this town square for hours, begging for someone to be merciful to give us some money so that my late husband could be buried. In exchange, my daughter will become that person’s maid. Young Master, since you had helped to rescue Li Xiang, would you be kind enough to give us a few taels of silver so her father could be buried and she would repay your generosity and serve you on your journey or back in your house,” the older woman begged Kiu Wai.

“I do not need a maid, I have to travel around in the Central Plains. But I will give you some silver taels to pay for your husband’s burial,” Kiu Wai told the older woman. He felt pity for the young girl and worried about her fate and future but there wasn’t much he could do for her since he intended to keep his promise to his grandfather to find his biological parents. His mission was almost impossible; it was like searching for a needle in the haystack so he was not keen to be held up by looking after a maid on top of that.

Kiu Wai took his money pouch out and handed twenty silver taels to the older woman, turned his back to leave but the young girl hurried after him, “Young Master, thank you so much for your financial help. Please allow me to serve you on your journey. We cannot accept financial help from you without giving you anything in return,” the young girl insisted.

Kiu Wai turned around and smiled at her, “It is alright, you do not need to serve me, I will be traveling a long way and I cannot take you with me. Take care of yourselves,” with that Kiu Wai dismissed the two women and went on his way.

However the young girl followed Kiu Wai as he went on his way to an inn. She sat on the steps of a store across the inn. Kiu Wai saw her but he was determined to ignore her because he did not want to have a female travel companion. The young girl sat there the whole night in the freezing cold and in the morning when Kiu Wai came out of the inn; he found her shivering on the steps. He shook his head slightly and went on his way, with the young girl following him from a distance.

Once out of town Kiu Wai got on his horse and galloped away swiftly. The young girl continued to follow him on foot, it was a long hike and she had fallen down many times skinning her hands and knees but she had persisted. Kiu Wai stopped at an abandoned temple for the night. He wondered about the young girl but dismissed her almost immediately from his mind, thinking that she would have given up since he had ridden many miles that day. He soon fell asleep.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 13

In the morning Kiu Wai awakened to the sounds of soft footsteps, it was Yuen Li Xiang. She came into the abandoned temple with a wet handkerchief in her hands; she had soaked it for Kiu Wai to wipe his face. As the young girl handed the soaked handkerchief to him, Kiu Wai noticed her skinned palms with dried blood on her wounds. He took her small hands in his and felt a tug of his heartstrings. He couldn’t believe her determination to follow him since he had ridden many miles and she must have walked the whole night to catch up with him, “Miss Li Xiang, did you walk the whole night? Are your hands hurting you?” Kiu Wai asked courteously.

“Yes Young Master, I did walk through the night but I am alright. My hands are fine; they had stopped bleeding and would heal in a few days. Would you be staying for a longer period of time in this abandoned temple? If you were, I could cook something for you to eat or buy you something from the market in the next town,” the young girl offered.

Kiu Wai sighed, the girl was so innocent and willing to serve him but he was a man and she was a girl and they were both unmarried and shouldn’t be alone together. They had to adhere to rules of propriety, “Miss Li Xiang, you should not have followed me. I have told you that I don’t need you to serve me. I have given you the money to help you out; I don’t expect anything in return. Please go back to your mother.”

The young girl looked at Kiu Wai forlornly, “I am sorry to have caused Young Master discomfort, if you do not want me near you, I will go away. I didn’t mean any harm, I just wanted to repay Young Master’s kindness to us,” with that the young girl turned to leave Kiu Wai but not before Kiu Wai saw the tears streaming down her face.

Kiu Wai sighed; he could not allow the girl to stay with him. Kiu Wai was an honorable man and he was worried for the young girl’s reputation and the ugly gossips that would haunt her if she continued to stay by his side. He hoped that she would go back to her mother so he remained steadfast in his decision not to have her by his side.

Kiu Wai remained in the abandoned temple for another hour and then got up to continue his way to the Capital. He was walking along the busy main street in the White Crane Town when he heard a commotion. People were scurrying to the side and others were being knocked over. A couple of riders were riding through the town and used their whips to lash out at people who stood in their way. Normally Kiu Wai would have walked to the side too until he saw a young girl struggling to get away from one of the riders who held her tightly in front of him. It was Yuen Li Xiang.

Kiu Wai walked to the middle of the street and stood in the path of the riders. The lead rider was furious at the intentional interference from Kiu Wai and lashed out with his whip at Kiu Wai while yelling, “Get out of our way, Little Punk!”

Kiu Wai grabbed a hold of the rider’s whip and pulled causing the rider to fall off the horse. Kiu Wai jumped up and kicked the rider as he was falling off the horse. The fallen rider clutched his abdomen in pain. The rest of the riders except for the rider who was holding onto Yuen Li Xiang unsheathed their sabers to slash at Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai unsheathed his sword and blocked their blows. By using intricate sword techniques that his grandparents taught him, Kiu Wai had disarmed all of the riders. The riders were furious and jumped off their horses and engaged Kiu Wai in a hand-to-hand combat until another rider who had ridden later into town stopped his horse next to Kiu Wai, yelling for the rest of the riders to stop fighting.

“Young Hero, I am sorry that my incompetent companions had offended you. Please accept my sincere apologies,” the rider had jumped off his horse and bowed to Kiu Wai in respect. He was a middle-aged man dressed in a grey suit and had a pair of twin swords with him.

“But First Brother, this little punk was the one who had stood in our way and attacked us,” one of the riders argued.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, apologize to the Young Hero here immediately,” the man in grey ordered the rest of the riders. They reluctantly obeyed and apologized to Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai cupped on right palm over his left fist and bowed to the man in grey, “My name is Xia Kiu Wai. I am sorry to be so rude and interfere in your companions’ business but I was trying to rescue the young girl who was with them.”

The rider who had held Yuen Li Xiang let her down the horse and she flew crying into Kiu Wai’s arms, “Thank you Young Master Kiu Wai for rescuing me. These thugs had abducted me as I was walking home to my mother.”

Kiu Wai set Yuen Li Xiang away from him and looked at the man in grey and asked, “Do you have an acceptable reason for the abduction of this young girl?”

“Miss Yuen, why did you accuse us of a crime like that? You were the one who had approached us to escort you to the Capital and we were kind enough to help you when you told us the sad story of your mother was dying and you needed to go to her as soon as possible. Then all of a sudden you started struggling to jump off the horse once we reached this town and accused us of abduction,” the rider who had held Yuen Li Xiang on his horse denied Yuen Li Xiang’s accusation.

Kiu Wai looked at Yuen Li Xiang and then at the man in grey, he could not decide whom to believe. However Kiu Wai liked to give everyone the benefit of doubt, “Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. Miss Yuen, you don’t look like you were harmed so now that you are free, you may go home to your mother.” Kiu Wai bowed to the riders and excused himself.

As Kiu Wai turned to leave the group, the man in grey spoke up, “Young Hero Xia, my name is Yan Lik Fu, we are from the White Tiger Clan. We would like to invite you to our headquarters in this town to apologize properly for the misunderstanding and that we could become friends.”

Kiu Wai looked at Yan Lik Fu and believed in his sincerity and accepted the latter’s invitation. He followed the group of riders to a mansion at the far end of the town. Yuen Li Xiang followed them and sat on the steps across the mansion to wait for Kiu Wai.

Chapter 14

Yan Lik Fu had observed Kiu Wai in his fight with his companions and was in awe of Kiu Wai’s martial arts expertise. The martial arts stances that Kiu Wai had used were unique and appeared suspiciously like those used by The Northern Heretical Duo. The Northern Heretical Duo had disappeared from the Mo Lam for almost two decades and Yan Lik Fu wondered what connection Xia Kiu Wai had with them. It would be great to recruit Kiu Wai into the White Tiger Clan. In any case it would be a good idea to become friends with Kiu Wai instead of being enemies with him. Yan Lik Fu was very happy that Kiu Wai had agreed to visit the headquarters of the White Tiger Clan.

Kiu Wai was curious about the White Tiger Clan. He was new to the Mo Lam but his grandfather did tell him a little about the various clans in the Mo Lam and The White Tiger Clan was one of the smaller righteous clans. However from the behavior exhibited by the riders in the town square, they were bullies. Kiu Wai had agreed to the invitation to check out their headquarters and if he did not like what he sees, he would just leave. Kiu Wai was young and inexperienced but he was fair-minded and he preferred to judge things for himself. He had adopted a little of his grandmother’s eccentricity and he would have no problems walking out on anyone he could not tolerate.

As for Yuen Li Xiang, Kiu Wai was curious about her. He believed the White Tiger Clan members that Yuen Li Xiang had requested help from them because she had wanted to catch up with him since she knew that he was on his way to the Capital. Kiu Wai did not trust her since he was convinced that she had lied about being abducted. Since Yuen Li Xiang was so determined to follow him, he was not going to persuade her otherwise. Yuen Li Xiang had not done anything to hurt anyone and she would be safer with him than running around the country on her own. Once he has found his parents, he would escort her home.

Yan Lik Fu brought Kiu Wai to the grand hall of the mansion and old man with white beard came out to greet Kiu Wai. Yan Lik Fu introduced the old man to Kiu Wai as the leader of the White Eagle Clan and his father, Yan Han Fu. When Kiu Wai told them that his Sifus were the Northern Heretical Duo, they hid their shock and surprise well. They were more than eager to become friends with Kiu Wai.

After a meal and a tour of the White Eagle Clan’s property, Kiu Wai had declined an offer to stay at the mansion. He told them that he was on his way to the Capital for personal business. Kiu Wai did not trust them enough to tell them that he was looking for his parents. The Yans did not dare to detain Kiu Wai but had extended an open invitation for him to come back for visits.

As Kiu Wai left the mansion, he saw Yuen Li Xiang sitting on the steps of a house opposite of the mansion he nodded politely to her. Yuen Li Xiang beamed happily at Kiu Wai and followed him on his way. Kiu Wai bought her a horse so that she could keep up with him. They had separate rooms when they stayed overnight at inns. Yuen Li Xiang took care of Kiu Wai along the way and they had fun, talking about everything under the sun. Kiu Wai grew used to having Yuen Li Xiang around and liked her company. He found her to be gentle and amusing. There was an inner strength and determination in her that continued to surprise him but yet there was also something in her personality that made him hesitant to trust her completely. Kiu Wai knew that Yuen Li Xiang was in love with him but he treated her as his younger sister and he wondered if she would understand his feelings for her had not changed.

Kiu Wai and Yuen Li Xiang reached the Capital and checked themselves into an inn. Kiu Wai told Yuen Li Xiang to stay in the inn while he had to attend to some business. Kiu Wai was sitting in a restaurant a few blocks from the inn where Yuen Li Xiang and he had checked into, contemplating his next move when he saw a couple of men chasing a young girl. The two men soon caught up with the young girl and held her down. They moved to search her clothes, while she cried her innocence. Kiu Wai didn’t like the young girl being bullied and her modesty being violated so he went over to intervene.

The two men were upset with Kiu Wai’s interference and a ferocious fight ensued. The young girl took the opportunity to slip away. Kiu Wai defeated the two men but found out later that they were escorts from the famous Miao Tung Escort Agency escorting an invaluable statue from a city fifty miles away to the Chin Family in the city when the young girl stole the statue from them. Kiu Wai felt foolish for falling for the young girl’s “damsel in distress” act. He promised the two men from the escort agency that he would help them recover that statue.

Kiu Wai was trying to think how he could find the young girl to make up for his mistake when he caught sight of her slipping into an alley. Kiu Wai followed her at a discrete distance and soon found himself out the city gate. The young girl finally stopped at an abandoned building for a rest. Kiu Wai crept stealthily to the building and kept an eye on her movements.

The young girl took out that statue from her clothes, she stroked the statue lovingly and giggled, “It was really fun stealing from those two idiots. Now I am going to offer this statue back to the Chin Family for a reward. Ha! Old Man Miao from Miao Tung Escort Agency is going to lose his reputation and face in the Mo Lam. Served him right for being arrogant and obnoxious!”

Kiu Wai had heard enough so he walked into the abandoned building, looking fierce so as to strike some fear into the mischievous girl’s heart, “Well, Little Miss, what have you got to say for yourself?”

Chapter 15

The young girl looked up in shock and blushed with guilt. She jumped up and turned to escape when Kiu Wai engaged her in a hand-to-hand combat. Kiu Wai had no intention of hurting the young girl; he just wanted to frighten her a little so that she would not play pranks like that again. Kiu Wai did not use his full strength to fight with the girl, but to his surprise the young girl’s level of martial arts was well above average and she put up a tough fight. However in the end, Kiu Wai was able to subdue her and had her in an arm lock.

The young girl began struggling to get away from Kiu Wai and called him all the meanest names under the sun. Kiu Wai got impatient with the young girl, he grabbed a hold of her in his arms; he carried her out of the building, with her screaming, kicking and struggling desperately to escape from him. He took her to a stream nearby and threw her into the icy cold water.

The young girl screamed and cursed as she struggled to get out of the stream. Kiu Wai told her that he wished he had something stronger to wash her mouth with because she was using very unladylike language! At last, the young girl stopped her screaming and wept silently as Kiu Wai helped her out of the stream.

Kiu Wai felt a tug of his heartstrings as he thought he had been too tough on the young girl. She was shivering from the cold. Kiu Wai took her in his arms gently, totally unconcerned that her wet clothes were making wet stains on his clothes. He massaged her arms while holding her close to his chest to keep her warm. He murmured words of comfort and waited for her to calm down. The young girl’s sobs slowed down to hiccups and soon stopped. The young girl pushed herself away from Kiu Wai’s embrace and glared at him, “I hate you! You are a mean bully! Tell me your name so that I can avenge this insult one day!” the young girl demanded.

Kiu Wai grinned at the young girl’s fighting spirit, she had been defeated but she was not giving up and he was positive that one day she would seek her revenge on him. He looked at her closer and found himself staring at the most beautiful mesmerizing pair of eyes that were spitting fire at him. Her silky black hair had escaped from the ribbon she had on after being in the water and from her struggles and cascaded in wild seductive disarray over his arms as he held her close. She looked stunningly beautiful despite her drowned appearance. Her petite alluring figure was outlined in her wet clothes, leaving little to the imagination and his was definitely working overtime! Her face was exquisite with flawless rosy complexion, a cute nose and luscious red lips that begged to be kissed when she was not carrying on a tirade against him, “Little Miss, you should quit while you were ahead. I am taking the statue with me and will return it to the escort agency and you should go home before I decide to spank you,” Kiu Wai threatened.

The young girl’s eyes opened wide, “You wouldn’t dare! Do you know who I am?”

“No, I don’t know who you are but I know that you needed a good spanking and some serious lessons in manners!” Kiu Wai couldn’t help himself but laughed at her expression of horror, indignation and defiance.

“I hate you! I will never forget what you did to me. I am going to avenge the insult you dealt me one day so you had better keep one eye opened when you sleep!” with that the young girl used her lightness martial arts skill to leave Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai shook his head slightly and walked back to the city to return the statue to the escort agency.

Chapter 16

Kiu Wai found himself thinking about that young girl even when he was with Yuen Li Xiang. He was more absent-minded and sometimes found himself smiling as he recollected the threats the young girl had made and wondered where she was and what she was doing. Then he stopped to reflect on reason he was daydreaming about the young mischievous hellion when he was with Yuen Li Xiang who was devoted to him. He was curious about the mysterious young girl and could not forget the attraction he felt for her and the reaction his body had to her physical proximity.

Kiu Wai had been in the Capital for a week and still had not made any headway in locating his parents because his heart was not in it. Kiu Wai and Yuen Li Xiang were walking in the town square one afternoon when he spied the young girl again acting in a suspicious manner. He saw her slipped her hand into the pockets of an elegantly dressed man who was busy choosing a piece of jewelry at one of the stalls. She managed to fish the money pouch out from the man’s pocket and then walked nonchalantly away. As soon as she walked fifty feet away, she turned around to look at her non-suspecting victim, stuck her tongue out cheekily and ran.

That was the last straw for Kiu Wai; he couldn’t believe that girl’s brazen behavior. He told Yuen Li Xiang to go back to the inn by herself and rushed off after the young girl. Kiu Wai followed the young girl discretely till they left the city gate. The girl seemed to have a destination in mind and walked towards a very poor part of the village and stopped in front of a broken down hut that had cracks in the walls and the door and windows were barely holding up. The young girl took out the silver nuggets from the money pouch and left them at the doorstep. She knocked on the door and then swiftly hid herself behind a column of bamboos.

A young woman in threadbare clothes that were mended in many places opened the door. She had a crying baby in her arms and a skinny toddler clinging to her legs and she almost tripped over the silver nuggets. The young woman saw the silver nuggets, bent down and picked them up. Her eyes searched around for the person who had left her the silver nuggets but could not see anyone. Her sad tired face broke into a grateful smile, “Thank you, Benefactor whoever you are, thank you.” She went back into the house with the silver nuggets clutched to her bosom. She was happy and relieved to have some money to pay the rent and buy some food for her starving children.

The young girl who had been hiding chuckled to herself and turned around to run back into the city when she ran straight into Kiu Wai. Her eyes opened wide in fright then they flashed with anger, “How long have you been standing there? Have you been spying on me?”

“Do you do such good deeds often, stealing from the rich and giving the spoils to the poor?” Kiu Wai asked intrigued.

“What I do is none of your business,” the young girl looked at Kiu Wai haughtily and turned to slip past him.

Kiu Wai reached out with his hand to detain her but the girl brushed his hand aside and used her lightness martial arts skills to escape. Kiu Wai chased after her; his lightness martial arts skills were better than hers and soon caught up with her. The young girl was furious that Kiu Wai had followed her so she turned around and attacked Kiu Wai viciously. Kiu Wai sighed with long suffering and engaged her in another hand-to-hand combat and soon had her in an arm lock again, “Look, Miss, I was just being curious, so why won’t you answer my question?”

The young girl glared at Kiu Wai and struggled, “Let go of me, let go of me, help! Somebody help me, this man was trying to violate my modesty!”

Upon hearing that, Kiu Wai was suddenly aware that he was holding the young girl in his arms again so he let go of her immediately and the young girl was quick to dance away, turned her head and stuck her tongue out at him. Kiu Wai was furious and gave chase again. Kiu Wai chased the young girl into the forest when he accidentally stepped into a trap and was caught in a net and the young girl quickly pulled the net up and soon Kiu Wai was hanging up in the air, “Ha! Got you!” the young girl rubbed her hands together gleefully.

Kiu Wai was upset with himself for being careless and got caught in the young girl’s trap, “Well, you had me caught in your trap, so what do you want from me?”

“I haven’t decided what to do with you yet. After what you had done to me the last time, I am sure you would agree that it is reasonable for me to avenge the insults you dealt me,” the young girl replied. The young girl sat down on the ground and plucked a long blade of grass and picked at it with her teeth while she pondered what she would do to Kiu Wai. Suddenly she jumped up with a start, “I have to go now but I will be back. I am sure you will be waiting patiently for me to release you,” the young girl giggled and ran off.

Kiu Wai called himself a fool a thousand times for falling into the young girl’s trap. He was stewing in his misery, as it grew dark. Suddenly he felt something warm and dry gliding down his neck. He turned his head and to his horror saw a big black snake with white stripes dangling from the branch above him and staring at him, with his forked tongue flicking at his face. Kiu Wai knew that the snake was poisonous and tried to keep still and calm, hoping that the snake would slither away when there was a loud sound in the bushes to his right. The snake was disturbed and bit Kiu Wai on his neck. Kiu Wai felt the sting of the snake’s fangs and went cold with shock. In the last minute before he lost consciousness, Kiu Wai sealed his own pressure points.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 17

“Please wake up, I am so sorry to have played that trick on you and caused you to get hurt. If you wake up, I promise that I will never play another trick on you,” Kiu Wai was awakened by a sweet voice and felt silky soft hair brushing his face, his senses were tantalized by a sweet feminine fragrance that was so familiar…it was the young girl. Kiu Wai opened his eyes to see the young girl kneeling by his side, with tears streaming down from her beautiful eyes; she looked so forlorn and frightened that his heart melted as he hoped that she was crying because she cared for him.

Kiu Wai tried to open his mouth to speak but it felt as if it was filled with cotton wool. He tried to lift his arm but found that he couldn’t because he was so weak. Suddenly the young girl noticed that Kiu Wai was awake, she was so relieved that she threw herself onto his chest and hugged him tightly, “I am so happy that you are alive, I thought that you had died,” she started to cry hard as though her heart was breaking.

“Shh, please don’t cry. I am alright; I am not dead yet. I cannot die yet because we have unfinished business between us. Remember you have yet to avenge the insult I had dealt you,” Kiu Wai managed to whisper in an effort to distract her from her sorrow by teasing her.

The young girl lifted her head from his chest and glared at Kiu Wai, “How could you make jokes about such a serious matter?”

“I was not joking, I meant what I have said. I will try to keep myself alive so that you can take your revenge on me, otherwise, I would become an unhappy ghost when I die,” Kiu Wai told the young girl with a straight face.

The young girl looked at Kiu Wai suspiciously, “Why? Why is it important to you that I had my revenge?”

“Because I want you to be happy and carefree, because I knew that you would feel cheated for not having the opportunity to avenge the insult I had dealt you and because I care about you,” as soon as the words left his lips, Kiu Wai knew they were sincere words straight from his heart. He had fallen in love with the little hellion!

The young girl looked surprised, she blushed adorably and then changed the subject, “Are you alright now? Can you walk if I support you? We need to go to my Sifu, she can help you.”

“Yes, I think I am able to walk,” Kiu Wai stood up unsteadily; he looked down and saw the chopped up carcass of the snake; which had bitten him.

“Yes, I had to kill it. I was so upset with the snake that I intended to search for its nest and kill the rest of his family,” the young girl explained. She had noticed Kiu Wai looking at the dead snake and she kicked at a portion of the snake viciously.

“My, you are a blood thirsty little imp!” Kiu Wai laughed.

The young girl had the grace to blush and Kiu Wai was enchanted with her captivating innocent beauty.

Chapter 18

The young girl whistled and the horse that she had with her came galloping towards them. She helped Kiu Wai up the horse, she got up behind him and together they rode out of the forest. Kiu Wai was lapsing in and out of consciousness and lost track of the time they had traveled.

“Greetings to Sifu from Student Ling Er,” the young girl greeted a beautiful middle aged woman who had come out of the hut to welcome her student.

The middle-aged woman was surprised to see Kiu Wai who was barely conscious as her student supported him off the horse, “Ling Er, who is this man? Why have you brought him here? You know that men are not welcomed here!”

The young girl knelt down to plead with her Master, “Sifu, I know that men were not welcomed to White Cloud Mountain but I beg Sifu to help this man. He was injured because of me.”

“Ling Er, take him away at once. You know the rules, he cannot stay here,” the middle-aged woman dismissed the young girl and turned her back on them.

The young girl clung to her Sifu’s legs, “Please Sifu, please help him. He is going to die if he didn’t get any help.”

The middle-aged woman became angry and moved to slap the young girl but Kiu Wai caught her arm. The middle-aged woman tried to shake off Kiu Wai’s hand, “Let go of my arm,” and moved to hit him with the other hand.

The young girl threw herself on Kiu Wai to protect him, “Please Sifu, please don’t hurt him. He is already seriously injured, and going to die without your help.”

“Get out of my way, you insolent girl. How dare you try to protect this man! Who is he and what is he to you?” the middle-aged woman asked angrily.

“I don’t know who he is. I only knew that it was my fault that he was injured,” the young girl replied.

Kiu Wai let go of the middle-aged woman’s arm, “Madam, I am sorry for coming here and disturbing your peace. But please don’t hurt this girl. I will leave immediately,” with that Kiu Wai got up shakily and stumbled out of the courtyard but after five steps he fell down unconscious.

The young girl rushed over to Kiu Wai and felt for his pulse, she blanched and wept on his chest. The middle-aged woman softened a little at her student’s obvious distress and walked over to them. She felt for Kiu Wai’s pulse, finding it to be thready and turned to walk back to her hut. It started to rain but the young girl stayed with Kiu Wai in the pouring rain the whole night, holding him in her arms, shivering with cold but she did not abandon Kiu Wai.

A new day began as the sun struggled to push the clouds aside to bathe the earth with her warmth and light. The middle-aged woman shook her head as she looked out of the window to see her student still hugging the unconscious man in her courtyard. She sighed with sorrow and resignation; her student was just not as tough as she made out to be. Why couldn’t she hate men like she was supposed to?

The heat of the sun was the only warmth that embraced the young girl, the body of Kiu Wai, which she had been hugging was getting colder by the minute. The young girl stroked his face tenderly, whispering words of encouragement to him. Suddenly she saw her Sifu standing beside them. The young girl looked up to her Sifu imploringly, “Sifu, please have pity and help this man. He doesn’t have much time left.”

The middle-aged woman bent down to feel Kiu Wai’s pulse surprised that he was still alive and sighed, “Ling Er, do you really want me to help this man?”

“Yes, Sifu, please help him. I will do anything if you would to help him,” the young girl promised.

“Why do you want to save this man? What is your relationship to him? Have you two been intimate?” the young girl’s Sifu questioned her with a frown.

The young girl blushed crimson red, “No, Sifu. We haven’t done anything immoral. In fact I hated him so much that I set out to trap him so that I could punish him for being mean to me. He was caught in the net and was hung in midair when a poisonous snake bit him. It was my fault that he was injured. I want him well again so that we could fight fairly.”

“Foolish child! The flip side of hate is love! You have probably fallen in love with this man. He is very good-looking, even when he is at death’s door. Is he going to marry you?” the middle-aged woman asked her extremely embarrassed student.

“No, Sifu. We are not going to get married. I have told Sifu that I felt guilty to have indirectly caused his injury and I wanted to make amends. Please Sifu, please have mercy and help him,” the young girl pleaded.

“Ling Er, would you be willing to pay the price for me to help this man?” the middle-aged woman asked the young girl silkily.

Chapter 19

“A price? Sifu knows that I do not have any silver nuggets, but I can go to my father to get as much as you want,” the naïve young girl was wondering why her Sifu was suddenly so monetary inclined.

“Why would I want any money for helping this man? The payment I want is high for you as well as for me. I will help this man if he marries you but then you will no longer be my student. You will have to leave White Cloud Mountain and never to return,” the middle-aged woman told her shocked student.

“Marry this man? I don’t want to marry anyone, especially to a mean bully like him!” the young girl was shocked at her Sifu’s request and protested.

“Good, since he was so mean to you, he could very well die!” with that the middle-aged woman turned her back on them to return to her hut.

“Please Sifu. Please don’t go. I promise I will marry him but could we talk about this later? Please help him first,” the young girl implored.

The middle-aged woman nodded her agreement and together they carried Kiu Wai into the hut. The middle-aged woman took out a pill bottle, “Give him a pill daily and transfer your internal energy to him for seven consecutive days, you must take as few breaks as possible. He would be fine in a weeks’ time. He must marry you as soon as he is well again and then I want both of you gone from White Cloud Mountain,” with that the middle-aged woman left the room.

The young girl sat Kiu Wai up and fed him the pill and then sat behind him to transfer her internal energy to him. Though the young girl’s internal energy was above average, it was lower than that from Kiu Wai’s and initially she had a hard time overcoming the energy barrier to start the transfer. She was sweating profusely by the time she finally got through with overcoming the barrier but as time passed, the transfer became easier. Diligently the young girl transferred her internal energy to Kiu Wai.

After a day, Kiu Wai regained consciousness and smiled weakly at the young girl. He wanted to ask her how she had managed to save him but she had refused to answer, placating him with her gentleness. In the following days, Kiu Wai regained his strength partially but did not protest when the young girl continued to take care of him.

The young girl was getting very weak as she transferred her internal energy to Kiu Wai with hardly any breaks to rest. On the seventh day, Kiu Wai woke up, fully recovered from the snake’s poison. He waited eagerly for the young girl to come into the room to surprise her. The young girl had told him earlier not to leave the room, as her Sifu didn’t want to see him. Kiu Wai had obediently stayed in the room without trying to leave in order not to cause more problems for the young girl.

It was getting late and when the young girl did not show up Kiu Wai became very worried. He decided to sneak out of the room. The sun was setting, and he shivered slightly from the chills of the mountain air. He saw a young girl running past him towards the forest about twenty feet away. He decided to follow her to see what was going on. They came to a clearing in the forest. Wooden torches were lit around the huge circle. Eleven girls formed the circle around the middle-aged woman who sat in the middle. Kiu Wai spotted the young girl who had saved him kneeling in front of the middle-aged woman.

“Ling Er, you had broken the rules of our clan by bringing that man to White Cloud Mountain. Now you have broken your promise made to me when I agreed to help you heal that man. How do you think I should punished you?” the middle-aged woman asked the young girl sternly.

The young girl was silent, her head hung down as she knelt in front of the middle-aged woman. “Very well, Chu Mei Ling, you are no longer a member of the White Cloud Mountain clan. You are never to return to White Cloud Mountain as agreed upon previously but in addition, I am going to waste your martial arts skills for breaking your promise to me.”

The young girl lifted her head up in shock, the rest of the girls got up to beg for their clan sister’s life.

Chapter 20

As the middle-aged woman lifted her palm to smash it on the young girl’s skull, a small pebble hit her palm, momentarily numbing it. She looked up angrily to see Kiu Wai approaching them swiftly.

“Xia Kiu Wai offers his greetings to Madam. I humbly beg Madam not to hurt Miss Chu,” Kiu Wai bowed in respect to the middle-aged woman.

“How dare you interfere with our clan’s matters? Leave immediately otherwise I am not going to give you any consideration or face,” the middle-aged woman ordered.

“I dared to interfere in your clan’s matters because I am indebted to Miss Chu. She had saved my life and now it is my turn to help her. I am not going to allow anyone to hurt her,” Kiu Wai swore determinedly.

“No, Young Master Xia, you must not interfere with our clan’s matters. Please leave before you get hurt,” Mei Ling looked at Kiu Wai imploringly with tears in her eyes. She was frightened for him. She knew that her Sifu would be merciless and kill him in a heartbeat if he didn’t back off and leave.

“Miss Chu, I am not leaving without you. Since your Sifu doesn’t want you here, you should leave this place but I am not going to let anyone hurt you!” Kiu Wai declared and glared at the middle-aged woman challengingly.

“No, no. Young Master Xia, you must leave now. I had done something wrong and deserved to be punished. Please leave, just go!” Mei Ling begged as her Sifu raised her arm in preparation to attack Kiu Wai.

“Insolent pup! Very well, if you can take three blows from me, Ling Er may leave this place with you,” the middle-aged woman challenged with a sneer.

Kiu Wai raised his arms cupping his fist with one hand in respect, “With all due respect Madam, I cannot allow you to hurt Miss Chu. Even though you had helped to heal me, it was Miss Chu whom I owed my life to. I will take the punishment for her. I will accept your challenge. Please have mercy.”

The middle-aged woman attacked Kiu Wai with a vicious blow, which threw him onto the ground ten feet away. She expected Kiu Wai to be half dead and was surprised to see him standing up with little distress. The middle-aged woman was angry and threw a second blow at Kiu Wai and he was thrown twenty feet onto the ground. To the middle-aged woman’s surprise, Kiu Wai got up shakily to his feet. She was enraged as she gathered her strength to use her most vicious stance, the Mountain Shattering Palm Stance.

Mei Ling screamed as she realized that her Sifu was aiming to kill Kiu Wai with that vicious blow. The blow hit Kiu Wai and he was thrown thirty feet away. The middle-aged woman laughed evilly when Kiu Wai didn’t get up immediately, thinking that she had succeeded in killing the young man. She was shocked when Mei Ling ran over to Kiu Wai’s body and he was still alive. The middle-aged woman became enraged and jumped over to them to attack Kiu Wai again.

Mei Ling was shocked that her Sifu had not kept her word to Kiu Wai and continued in her attempts to kill him so she reminded her Sifu, “Sifu, please don’t hurt Young Master Xia. He had withstood three of your blows successfully.”

Kiu Wai took Mei Ling in his arms and rolled out of harm’s way and pulled both of them up. Kiu Wai pushed Mei Ling to the side and then using the internal energies of his grandparents he pushed his palms out to clash with those of the middle-aged woman. The middle-aged woman was surprised to meet the high internal energy of the young man and she was pushed back a dozen of steps and almost toppled over.

Kiu Wai was pushed back a couple of steps and he stood on his feet without toppling over. A small trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, “Madam, I had taken three of your blows and we should be able to leave this place without interference. If you continued to attack me, I will not hold back.”

“Arrogant pup, we will see how well you fight then,” the middle-aged woman attacked Kiu Wai viciously. Kiu Wai used the intricate martial arts stances that his grandparents taught him to counter her attacks and soon a hundred stances were exchanged and the middle-aged woman couldn’t touch Kiu Wai so she stopped, “Young Man, which martial arts clan do you belong to and who is your Sifu?”

“Madam, thank you for the lesson and for being merciful. My Sifus were my late grandparents The Northern Heretical Duo,” Kiu Wai answered humbly.

“So my guess was correct. You were The Northern Heretical Duo’s student. No wonder your internal energy was so high and your martial arts skills so unique. I had also wondered that you had survived the snakebite such a long time without the antidote; you must have been exposed to poison before from them. You may go now and take Ling Er with you, promise to treat her well and take care of her. I don’t want to see either one of you here ever again,” with that the middle-aged woman walked away followed by her eleven students.

Mei Ling knelt down and kowtowed to her Sifu’s receding back, “I am so sorry, Sifu that I had caused you to be disappointed with my behavior. Please forgive me.”

The middle-aged woman continued to walk away without looking back or acknowledging her former student’s humble apologies.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 21

The young girl, Chu Mei Ling, was still on the ground weeping when Kiu Wai bent down and helped her up, “Miss Chu, I am sorry that you got into trouble with your Sifu because of me and had to leave your clan. Let us leave this place and find somewhere quiet to recuperate.”

Mei Ling nodded silently in acquiescence. Kiu Wai took her dejected body in his arms and let her sobbed her misery away. At last Mei Ling lifted her head up and gave Kiu Wai a weak watery smile, but it was enough to lift his spirits. When Mei Ling was hurting, Kiu Wai had felt a deep discomfort and hurt in his heart and longed to take away her pain. He was relieved that she had calmed down; he trailed his finger down her cheeks to catch a stray teardrop. Her beauty was breathtaking and he had to shake himself mentally to control his urge to kiss her. He stepped away from her, “Miss Chu, where would you like to go? Do you intend to go home? I will escort you back to your family.”

Mei Ling looked at Kiu Wai with an inscrutable expression and after a long moment of silence, “Thank you, Young Master Xia, I will be alright. I can go back to my father on my own. Thank you for your concern,” with that the young girl walked away from Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai had followed Mei Ling a few steps when she turned around, “Please Young Master Xia, I do not want you to follow me. I want to be on my own,” with that Mei Ling ran down the path leading away from the forest and her clan.

Kiu Wai felt a sharp pain in his chest when he heard her dismissal. He didn’t want to be parted from Mei Ling so he waited a while before following her discretely. At first her tracks were clear and easy to follow. But soon her tracks looked faint and uneven. Kiu Wai knew something was very wrong so he hurried forward to catch up with Mei Ling and soon stumbled onto her lying unconscious by some bushes. He felt for her pulse and found it very weak though she didn’t show any visible injury.

Kiu Wai carried Mei Ling to a cave nearby and examined her more thoroughly. He found that she had suffered a severe internal injury, which was the reason why she had not used her lightness martial arts skill to run away. Though he was injured himself from the fight with Mei Ling’s Sifu, Kiu Wai started to transfer his internal energy to Mei Ling. Soon she regained consciousness and started to protest.

“Shh, Miss Chu, let me help you. You were severely injured, probably from trying to heal me. Now it is my turn to help you. Please remain still otherwise both of us would suffer from fire deviation,” Kiu Wai persuaded Mei Ling to allow him to heal her.

They remained in the cave for a week; Kiu Wai took care of Mei Ling, using his knowledge of herbal medicine in addition to transferring his internal energy to her to aid her in her recovery. Whenever he took a break, he would concentrate on meditation to heal himself. By the end of the week, both of them had almost recovered from their injuries.

Kiu Wai once again asked Mei Ling, “Miss Mei Ling, where would you like to go? I will escort you to your destination. I worry about your safety so please let me have a peace of mind by escorting you.”

“I am heading to the Chi Lam Monastery fifty miles from here. I will be fine on my own so you do not have to follow me. I am sure there is somewhere you would rather be or someone you would rather be with,” Mei Ling teased.

“I have some unfinished business in the Capital and there is someone I needed to see before I could go with you. Why don’t you come with me to the Capital so that I have a chance to finish my business there and then we can go together to Chi Lam Monastery?” Kiu Wai wished that Mei Ling would agree to accompany him to the Capital to say goodbye to Yuen Li Xiang. It had been over two weeks since he had last seen Yuen Li Xiang and it was odd that he had not once thought about Yuen Li Xiang until today but he wanted to clarify things up with Yuen Li Xiang first before moving on.

“Alright, let’s go,” with that Mei Ling ran ahead of Kiu Wai and they laughingly raced each other to reach the Capital. Kiu Wai fell more deeply in love with Mei Ling during their trip to the Capital. She was a still mischievous imp and had continued to play tricks on him but she also had a kind heart.

Kiu Wai and Mei Ling were having lunch at a restaurant when an old man came in to beg for food. The innkeeper was annoyed to see the dirty old man and moved to chase him away. Mei Ling stood up and invited the old man to their table to eat. Kiu Wai did not object but he looked at her with astonishment, he could not fathom her personality. Mei Ling was very temperamental and her actions contradictory, she would fuss at him when he didn’t put on a clean suit but she had no qualms inviting a smelly old beggar to eat with them!

“Elder, what is your name? He is Xia Kiu Wai and I am Chu Mei Ling,” Mei Ling introduced Kiu Wai and herself to the poor beggar.

“Ah Miss Chu, you are indeed very kind hearted. I am old beggar Chan. I am from the south. You are the first person to invite me to a meal. I will not forget your kindness. One day I will repay you by inviting you to a meal too,” the old beggar promised as he wolfed down the food greedily. Then he stood up to excuse himself.

Mei Ling looked at Kiu Wai with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and giggled, inviting and causing him to laugh with her. They had to order more food because the old beggar had eaten all their food in the few minutes that he sat at their table.

Chapter 22

Kiu Wai and Mei Ling reached the Capital the next day. They were walking towards the inn where Kiu Wai had stayed when Yuen Li Xiang saw them and came running out of the inn towards them. She threw herself at Kiu Wai, hugging him tightly. Kiu Wai turned slightly red with embarrassment and extricated himself from her embrace. Kiu Wai turned his head to look at Mei Ling who was standing beside him and saw the hurt and disappointment on her face though she remained silent. It suddenly struck him that it was a bad move to meet Yuen Li Xiang without explaining his intention to Mei Ling that he was going to break off his relationship with Yuen Li Xiang.

“Young Master Kiu Wai, what is the matter with you? Where have you been the past few weeks? Who is this girl?” Li Xiang demanded possessively.

“Li Xiang, there is nothing wrong. Let us go back to the inn and I will tell you everything. This is Miss Chu Mei Ling,” Kiu Wai introduced Mei Ling to Yuen Li Xiang.

Yuen Li Xiang looked at Mei Ling with a sinking feeling in her heart. Mei Ling was an exquisite beauty and from the possessiveness that Kiu Wai subconsciously showed towards Mei Ling, they were more than friends and Yuen Li Xiang became very jealous, “Miss Mei Ling, where are you from? Is it customary in your part of the country to be so affectionate with a man whom you were not related to?”

Mei Ling looked at Yuen Li Xiang in shock; then she looked at Kiu Wai accusingly, “I am sorry to have interrupted a joyous reunion. I have to go,” with that Mei Ling turned on her heels and ran away.

Kiu Wai tried to detain Mei Ling but she had slipped among the crowd in the streets. He sighed and decided to break off his relationship with Yuen Li Xiang first before trying to see Mei Ling again, “Li Xiang, let us go back to the inn and I will explain everything to you.”

Together Kiu Wai and Yuen Li Xiang walked back to the inn; they stopped at the restaurant for some refreshment. After some refreshment they went to Kiu Wai’s room. As soon as they were alone in the room, Yuen Li Xiang threw herself at Kiu Wai, kissing him passionately. Kiu Wai was shocked and appalled at Yuen Li Xiang’s behavior, “Li Xiang, please behave yourself,” and pushed her firmly away from him.

Yuen Li Xiang looked at Kiu Wai with tears in her eyes, “Young Master Kiu Wai, why are you being so cold towards me? Don’t you love me any more?”

“Li Xiang, that was what I had been trying to tell you. I have never loved you; my feelings for you had always been that of a brother towards a sister. I have fallen in love with Mei Ling and I want to be with her. I thought that it would be proper to tell you first and see that you return home to your mother safely. I am sorry but I don’t want you to follow me around. You have to go home to your mother,” Kiu Wai decided to be honest to Yuen Li Xiang and break off his relationship with her once and for all with no misunderstanding between them.

Yuen Li Xiang looked at Kiu Wai totally in shock, her fears were realized. As soon as she saw Kiu Wai together with Mei Ling, she knew that her relationship with Kiu Wai was in jeopardy. She decided to appeal to Kiu Wai’s compassionate nature and lied, “Young Master Kiu Wai, I have nowhere to go to. I received word from a neighbor while you were gone that my mother had passed away. Please don’t send me away. I will be your maid and I am sure Miss Chu would welcome female companionship.”

Kiu Wai was torn in his feelings, though he didn’t love Yuen Li Xiang, he felt responsible for her. Kiu Wai had thought that he could send her home to her mother but with the death of her mother, Yuen Li Xiang was all alone in the world and needed his protection. He decided to leave things as they were till the morning.

Kiu Wai was bone weary from the journey and went to bed early that night after drinking a lot of wine. In the middle of the night, he felt silky smooth skin against his and soft lips kissing him. He dreamt of Mei Ling but there was something wrong, the fragrance was different…it was Yuen Li Xiang. She had undressed herself and had tried to seduce him. Kiu Wai pushed her off his bed and jumped up. He pulled on his clothes hurriedly and turned around upon hearing a subdued sob.

Kiu Wai looked out of the window and saw Mei Ling’s horrified face as she had witnessed the incriminating scene. Mei Ling turned on her heels and ran away. Despite Yuen Li Xiang attempts to cling to his legs, Kiu Wai pushed her roughly away and ran after Mei Ling. Kiu Wai could see Mei Ling in the distance and used his lightness martial arts skills and soon caught up with her. As Kiu Wai moved to touch Mei Ling, she turned around and attacked him. They were soon engaged in a ferocious fight and as usual, Kiu Wai was able to subdue Mei Ling.

“Let me go, let me go. I hate you!” Mei Ling screamed, her tears blinding her as she struggled futilely to get away from Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai continued to hold her in his arms until Mei Ling was exhausted and had only strength to weep bitterly. With every tremor of her slim body and every drop of her tears as she sobbed her anger and disappointment, Kiu Wai felt helpless with regret that he had hurt her. He wished that he could explain to Mei Ling that it was a misunderstanding and that he had been asleep when Yuen Li Xiang crept naked into his bed and that nothing had happened but he doubted that she would listen or understand.

When Mei Ling finally calmed down and her tremors subsided, Kiu Wai released her from his strong arms. Mei Ling felt a sudden chill but she turned to look at Kiu Wai with disappointment and sorrow, “Goodbye, take care of yourself. I hope we will not meet ever again.”

Had Mei Ling screamed her insults and anger, Kiu Wai would have some hope for reconciliation but her words were uttered in calmness and the farewell was so final, “I am very sorry that I have hurt you. I hope that one day you will forgive me. Please take care of yourself,” he called after Mei Ling as she ran away.

Chapter 23

Kiu Wai stood staring into the distance at Mei Ling’s receding back and felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest as if a piece of his heart had been ripped out from him. He felt a great loss and a sense of loneliness that his life would never be the same again. He walked with leaden feet back to the inn, his shoulders hunched in dejection.

Yuen Li Xiang was still in his room though she had put her clothes back on. She ran to Kiu Wai as soon as he stepped into the room, “Young Master Kiu Wai, please don’t be angry with me. I love you so much and I was afraid to lose you. Please forgive me.”

Kiu Wai pushed Yuen Li Xiang away unsmilingly, “I don’t want to talk about it. Here is one hundred silver taels, it should get you started somewhere. I am leaving now and please do not try to follow me. I have lost Mei Ling; she had meant the world to me. No one could take her place in my heart, certainly not you. I do not hate you but I do not want to see you ever again. Take care of yourself,” with that Kiu Wai walked out of his room to settle his bill with the innkeeper and continued his journey aimlessly.

Kiu Wai wandered around in the Capital for a couple of days, getting drunk daily and crying silent tears every night when he was alone. One night he was sleeping in an abandoned building outside the city gate when he heard noises of a group of people walking into the building. Kiu Wai was instantly awake but kept silent, not wanting to give the newcomers any inkling that he was there.

“Chin Yiu Kei from Green Snake Cult greets Minister Lu Pang,” a man in a deep voice called out with respect.

“Ah Hero Chin, I am so glad to meet with you. I have heard a lot about you. You are one of the best martial arts experts in the Mo Lam and I am so happy that you agreed to meet with me tonight,” another man answered.

“Minister Lu, thank you for the compliment. Your humble servant does not deserve such high praises. What can this humble servant do for you?” Chin Yiu Kei asked.

“I heard that a Mongolian princess had come to the Central Plains all by herself. Her father, The Great Khan had sent his men to the Central Plains to look for her. The Green Snake Cult had many members all over the Mo Lam. I want you to order your men and to spread word among the clans to help to look for and capture the princess. I had received information that she was here as a spy. We are going to use the princess for ransom. The Mongolians were looking for a reason to invade the Central Plains. If we have the Mongolian princess on our hands, the Great Khan would hesitate to invade the Central Plains,” Minister Lu told Chin Yiu Kei.

“Ah, that is an excellent plan. I will send word out to my friends in the Mo Lam to look out for the Mongolian princess. Both the righteous and the evil clans will unite to prevent the Central Plains from being attacked. We will find the Mongolian spy,” Chin Yiu Kei assured Minister Lu.

“Once you have captured the Mongolian princess, I don’t want her to be hurt. We need her alive and well so that the Great Khan would not invade the Central Plains. Our countrymen would be spared a terrible war. You would be handsomely rewarded for your efforts,” Minister Lu instructed Chin Yiu Kei.

“Minister Lu, it is our patriotic responsibilities to protect our country and our countrymen from invasion and harm. I wouldn’t dream of accepting monetary rewards for my efforts. However I would appreciate a good word from you to our King so that I may get a position in the Imperial Court,” Chin Yiu Kei bargained for a better deal.

“I am not aware that Hero Chin is interested in being a court official. Of course, it can be arranged,” Minister Lu, agreed to the terms.

“I will send word out to the leaders of all the clans in the Mo Lam. Once we have found the princess and had her in our power, I will send word to you,” Chin Yiu Kei promised.

“Good, I am counting on you, Hero Chin. I am sure you will not disappoint me and I hope to receive good news as soon as possible,” Minister Lu told Chin Yiu Kei.

“Thank you Minister Lu for your confidence in me. I will go now to spread the word in the Mo Lam,” Chin Yiu Kei excused himself and left the abandoned building.

‘Minister Lu, are you really going to let the criminal Chin Yiu Kei have a position as a court official after the mission is accomplished?” another man asked Minister Lu when Chin Yiu Kei from the Green Snake Cult had left the building with his men.

“Of course not. I was only using him. Scumbags like Chin were only good for being used. I would have given him some silver nuggets as a reward but he was greedy. So as soon as we take custody the Mongolian princess from Chin Yiu Kei, we will lay all the blame on the Green Snake Cult and King Chu will have that cult destroyed. We will kill the Mongolian princess when King Chu has her in the palace. When the Great Khan finds out that his daughter was killed while in King Chu’s custody at the Imperial Palace he will be angry with King Chu for not protecting his daughter. The Great Khan will use that as an excuse for his invasion. We will then use the instability to oust King Chu,” Minister Lu laughed.

“And we will elect Minister Lu Pang as the next King. What a clever plan, Minister Lu. I bow down in respect of Minister Lu’s cunning,” the other man laughed. Together the two men left the abandoned building.

Chapter 24

Kiu Wai got up and went out to the front hall of the abandoned building when he was sure that everyone had left the building. He was furious to hear that despicable plot from Minister Lu to attain power. Minister Lu had no sense of honor and was so evil that he did not care that he would bring suffering and death to the people of the Central Plains by provoking a war between the Central Plains and Mongolia so that he could seize power.

Kiu Wai decided that he had to stop the plans; especially they were talking about abducting Princess Siong Siong. Kiu Wai felt guilty that he had not even said goodbye to Princess Siong Siong before he left Mongolia. He didn’t want any tearful goodbyes because he knew that Princess Siong Siong was in love with him. Kiu Wai was hoping that Princess Siong Siong would forget about him as time passed. He didn’t think that Princess Siong Siong would be so determined to find him that she would risk coming to the Central Plains all by herself.

After the last encounter with Mei Ling Kiu Wai had been sulking for a few days. Then he had planned to go to Chi Lam Monastery since that was where Mei Ling was headed; he missed her very much and longed for another glimpse of her beautiful face. Yes, he was a glutton for punishment since he knew that Mei Ling would not forgive him or speak with him but he needed to see her and be near her.

Now Kiu Wai has a change of plans. He couldn’t allow the evil plot from Minister Lu to succeed. He had to find Princess Siong Siong to protect her and then escort her home to Mongolia.

Meanwhile in the Imperial Palace,

The Princess was tossing and turning in her bed. She clutched at her pillow tightly in her arms, her fingers clenched into fists so tightly that her fingernails dug into her palms, causing deep indentations. She was crying silently in anguish. She had been in a deep depression for a couple of days and had refused to get out of bed or eat. When she did get out of her room, she had screamed at all the palace maids, throwing such terrible temper tantrums that everyone had avoided her. Her timid maid had come in earlier to bring her a basin of water to wash up and the Princess had overturned the basin and yelled for the maid to leave the room. No one had dared to go near her room since and that was how the Princess wanted it. She just wanted to be left alone; she hated everyone and everything, especially her foolish heart!

After tossing and turning for another hour, the Princess got out of bed and walked into the courtyard right outside her room. A couple of royal security guards were standing around watchfully but they had learned to blend into the surroundings and did not try to engage anyone in conversation. They were so still and silent that they could have been mistaken for statues!

The Princess sat down on a stone bench in the pavilion. Fragrance of jasmine flowers filled the cool night air, a slight breeze whispered as it glided among the flowering bushes and potted plants. The Princess did not seem interested in her surroundings or its tranquility; she pulled absentmindedly at the leaves of the potted plants, which sat on the ledges of pavilion’s railings. Then suddenly with a rough swipe, the Princess knocked a potted plant onto the floor, shattering the ceramic pot, spilling the soil and plant, the crash was deafening in the silence of the night.

Guards from other parts of the palace came running to the courtyard and stopped in their tracks when they saw their Princess in her nightclothes, hair uncombed, looking furious, she had a crazy glint in her wild but beautiful eyes. They caught their breaths at the untamed astonishingly exquisite beauty. If the beauty of a fairy from Heaven could be described, the beauty of the Princess would have fitted that description. The guards backed away when they saw that their Princess was safe, they dared not advance further.

“Go away! I did not call for anyone of you. Leave immediately or I will have all your heads chopped off!” the Princess threatened.

The guards didn’t need another prompting, their Princess was safe and she didn’t want any company. They retreated hurriedly to their previous positions around the palace.

The Princess gave the guards’ receding backs a dirty look and stormed back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She went to the heavily carved armoire at the corner of the room and pulled out a pink silk outfit. She changed into her new outfit quickly and combed her silky hair, arranged golden bejeweled hairpins in them, grabbed a few silver nuggets and her sword. She then crawled under her bed, reached into a recessed part in the heavily carved legs of the bed and pulled a small level there. The floor opened up and the Princess dropped down a chute into a small crawl space. She crawled along the tunnel located at the corner of the crawl space and soon came out of the bushes just outside the walls of the Imperial Palace.

The Princess stood up and dusted her clothes. She turned her face to the sky, the Princess’s ethereal beauty basked in the soft moonlight, yes the Princess was an exquisite beauty but she was also a very angry beauty. The Princess was going to avenge the hurt she had suffered and her foe was going to wish that he had died when all the odds were against him. Yes, she was going to make him suffer as much as she had suffered these past few days!

[sowfoong]

Chapter 25

Kiu Wai sat in the abandoned building for a long time, thinking of ways to find Princess Siong Siong before Chin Yiu Kei and the martial arts experts from the Mo Lam get a hold of her.

Kiu Wai had neglected to take care of himself ever since Mei Ling had left him. He couldn’t remember when was the last time he had a warm meal though he had drank heavily every night because that was the only way he could catch a few winks of sleep. The image of Mei Ling’s horrified face haunted him and he hadn’t been able to sleep more than a couple of hours at night. He had been feeling sorry for himself but since overhearing the evil plot from Minister Lu, Kiu Wai had a new purpose in life. If he could help rescue a young girl from the evil plot, it could help to assuage his guilt for hurting Mei Ling. But in order to blend in with the ordinary folks, he had to make himself presentable and sober.

Kiu Wai remembered seeing a river a mile away and thought he could get himself cleaned up there. He walked out of the abandoned building towards the river. He could hear the soothing melody of the gentle flow of the river, the rustle of leaves as a light breeze danced and weaved in between them, inviting them to join the nature concert. The image of the silvery moon reflected on the water surface of the river and shattered as Kiu Wai jumped in after discarding his clothes at the bank of the river. It was refreshing to wash the grime off his body, and Kiu Wai felt more alive as the last dredge of alcohol-clouded fuzziness was removed, leaving him more sober and more alert than he had been the past few days.

Suddenly Kiu Wai’s ears pricked up, his senses were on high alert. He was not alone! His sharp ears caught the soft rustle of light footsteps and he searched around for the intruder. His eyes lit onto the boulder where he had left his clothes and found to his dismay that his pile of clothes was gone! Then he spotted the shadow of a slim figure flittered and disappeared into the darkness of the bushes on the bank of the river.

“Who is there?” Kiu Wai called out into the darkness. No one answered him but he knew that there was someone lurking in the shadows. He was freezing in the cold night air as he was forced to stay in the icy cold river because he didn’t have any clothes to put on. Here he was naked as a jaybird and the prankster was hiding in the shadows probably laughing at his predicament! “Whoever you are, come out so that I can see your face and get my revenge one day for the trick you played on me tonight,” Kiu Wai demanded.

Kiu Wai heard a familiar giggle; it was Chu Mei Ling! He was elated with joy that he would soon see Mei Ling again, “Mei Ling, I know it is you hiding among the bushes, come on out,” he challenged Mei Ling.

Sure enough, Mei Ling came out from behind the bushes with his clothes in her arms, “I wouldn’t be so demanding if I were you. After all I have your clothes and you are naked. I think I should go to the village and invite the villagers to come and see you in all your naked glory,” Mei Ling called out with a little spite in her voice.

“You wouldn’t be so cruel. What do you want in return for my clothes?” Kiu Wai tried to coax her into returning his clothes.

“Why shouldn’t I punish you after the way you have treated me? You could not pay me enough to return your clothes. I want you humiliated in front of all the villagers,” Mei Ling added spitefully.

“You are sure that you won’t return my clothes?” Kiu Wai questioned her silkily.

“Yes, I am going to burn them. I want to see how long you can stay in that river,” Mei Ling threatened.

“Alright, have it your way. Since I am not going to get my clothes back anyway, I might as well get out of the river now and try to steal some clothes while it is still dark and everyone is in bed,” Kiu Wai told Mei Ling casually and waded towards the bank of the river. The water level dropped lower as he approached the bank of the river and more and more of his torso was revealed.

Mei Ling blushed and shrieked with embarrassment and shyness when she saw Kiu Wai wading purposefully towards her as more and more of his naked torso was revealed. She threw down his pile of clothes and turned hurriedly away from him, hiding her face with her hands.

Kiu Wai laughed at Mei Ling’s naivety; he had won this round by calling her bluff. He wouldn’t have gotten out of the river naked but the naïve girl couldn’t have known that. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her and spank her for her mischief or maybe he would just kiss her until she promised to be good and behaved herself.

Chapter 26

Kiu Wai jumped into his clothes, not bothering to dry himself first. His clothes clung to his wet body, revealing a muscular well-trained figure. By the time he looked up from dressing, Mei Ling was nowhere to be seen. He searched around for her and spied her slim figure fleeing in the distance. Kiu Wai sighed, it seemed that he was always chasing after Mei Ling but she was worth it, he would have gladly chased her to the end of earth just to be with her again.

Kiu Wai soon caught up with Mei Ling and tried to talk to her but Mei Ling ignored him and continued walking. Kiu Wai tried to detain her with his hand but she brushed off his hand, “Keep your hands off me. I have nothing to say to you. I want you to leave me alone,” Mei Ling insisted.

“Mei Ling, please stop and hear me out. I am sorry for the scene that you had witnessed. I can swear that nothing had happened between Li Xiang and me. She tried but I did not succumb to the temptation, please believe me,” Kiu Wai pleaded for Mei Ling to listen to him.

“How dare you bring up that disgusting scene? I hate you, I hate you!” Mei Ling broke down and cried as she pummeled Kiu Wai on his chest. Kiu Wai accepted the blows without trying to defend himself but when Mei Ling tried to kick him; that was when he got impatient. He grabbed a hold of her hands in his arms and pulled her to his chest and held her close to his heart though she struggled to escape. She then tried to bite him so he cupped her face between his hands and bent his head to capture her lips with his and silenced her cursing and screams.

In the beginning Mei Ling tried to shake off his hold on her face as his lips captured her soft ones imperiously but soon she surrendered when Kiu Wai softened his kisses. His lips left hers to caress her face, planting little kisses on her eyelids and her cute nose; his lips moved onto the delicate shells of her ears, the tip of his tongue explored the delicate structure, his teeth nibbled playfully at her nape and at the little pulse near her collarbone. She moaned with a hunger for the return of his lips to hers. Her hands, which had been trapped between their tight embrace were released and she clung to him desperately silently begging for more of his addictive passionate kisses. She sighed softly when his lips returned to hers; he traced the outline of her lips with the tip of his tongue then slipped in to explore the sweetness within, flooding her with a warm sensation, as she pressed closer to masculine body.

It was a long time before Kiu Wai satisfied his hunger for Mei Ling’s sweet kisses and she had purred with satisfaction. Kiu Wai lifted his head to stare probingly into Mei Ling’s expressive passion-drowsy eyes; she blushed crimson red with shyness at her wanton response to his passionate kisses and tried to put a distance between them. Kiu Wai shook his head slightly at Mei Ling’s belated protest and pressed his lips on hers again masterfully in a lingering possessive kiss to lay claim on her as his forever.

Kiu Wai pulled Mei Ling down onto the soft bed of grass with him, embracing her with his strong arms protectively. They did not speak, preferring the amicable silence and intimacy in each other’s arms, enjoying the soft caresses and tender kisses, listening to the chirping of the crickets nearby and looking up at the silver moon and the twinkle of the thousands of stars that adorned the dark velvet sky like precious sparkling diamonds. Soon the sky was suffused with warm pink; bright yellow and glorious orange hue as a new day began with the sun lazily stretching and yawning from his bed of clouds and the silver moon disappeared with a silent goodbye. Kiu Wai and Mei Ling could hear the roosters crowing at the break of dawn in the distance and the sounds of villagers awakening in the village nearby. Reluctantly they got up, they tried to smooth out the wrinkles in their clothes and made themselves presentable.

Kiu Wai broke the amicable silence as he asked Mei Ling, “Where had you been the past few days?”

“I had been licking my wounds at home. I came back to find you to avenge the humiliation but I was reluctant to go to the inn because of Miss Li Xiang. I decided to go to Chi Lam monastery as planned. I was passing through this forest and stopped to get a drink when I saw you in the river and decided to take your clothes away and the rest was history,” Mei Ling answered truthfully.

“Mei Ling, will you forgive me? I can swear on everything I hold dear that nothing had happened between Li Xiang and me, not that she didn’t try. I had clarified things up with her and I won’t be seeing her again. Would you forgive me for hurting you?” Kiu Wai pleaded with Mei Ling.

“What you did with Miss Li Xiang is none of my business. I have to go now, Chi Lam Monastery is seventy five miles from here and I want to be there within five days,” with that Mei Ling turned to leave Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai was not going to allow Mei Ling walked out of his life again, “Mei Ling, I want you to make it your business what I had done and will do in the future. Don’t you care for me or want be with me any more?”

“No, I don’t want to be with you. You had proven to be just like the other men that my Sifu had warned me about. I do care for you and I always will but I don’t trust you. I think it is best if we go our separate ways. Goodbye and take care of yourself,” Mei Ling continued to walk from Kiu Wai.

“Will you not give me another chance and forgive me for the mistake I had made?” Kiu Wai pleaded with Mei Ling one last time.

“There isn’t anything to forgive. I have told you that what you had done with Miss Li Xiang is none of my business,” Mei Ling threw over her shoulders coldly without stopping to look at Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai sighed with defeat and sat down again on the riverbank. After an hour he finally got up having accepted that there was no future for him with Mei Ling. He tried to concentrate the task at hand; that was to find Princess Siong Siong and prevent her from being captured and harmed.

Chapter 27

Mei Ling had forced herself to walk with determination away from Kiu Wai even though she had longed to rush back into his strong protective arms and his passionate kisses that had her weak in the knees. That incriminating scene of a naked Li Xiang embracing a half dressed Kiu Wai had shocked her to her core. It destroyed the fragile step she took in trusting Kiu Wai.

Mei Ling was born into a very powerful family. Her mother was the 2nd wife. Mei Ling was the only child and the apple in her father’s eyes, he doted on her and there wasn’t anything her father wouldn’t do for Mei Ling. The obsessive love her father had for Mei Ling caused her father’s first wife to be very jealous. She was barren and couldn’t have any children, so when Mei Ling’s father took a second wife who then gave birth to a daughter, she had snickered thinking that having a daughter was just as worthless as being barren. However Mei Ling’s father was an exception to the norm, he adored Mei Ling and spoiled her terribly and had spent all his free time with the 2nd wife and Mei Ling. The jealousy was eating up the first wife and she plotted to get rid of Mei Ling.

Mei Ling was seven years old when her mother became very ill. Many physicians came to see her but were unable to help her. As a last resort, Mei Ling’s mother had been sent to a temple twenty miles away to stay and pray for recovery. Mei Ling had accompanied her mother on the journey with an escort of ten attendants. On the way home, a group of bandits attacked Mei Ling and her entourage. Mei Ling ran to hide in some bushes and watched the massacre as all the attendants were killed. The bandits came towards Mei Ling and were about to kill her when a highly skilled martial arts expert saved her. It was Lady Peony from the White Cloud Mountain Clan.

Lady Peony was on her way home from a visit with her friend when she saw from a distance the attack on the men escorting Mei Ling. Lady Peony was too late to save the men but she managed to kill the bandits and saved Mei Ling. Lady Peony was able to find out from one of the dying bandits that they were sent to kill Mei Ling. Lady Peony was worried about Mei Ling so she took her home with her. Mei Ling stayed with Lady Peony for seven years at White Cloud Mountain and had learned martial arts skills from Lady Peony. Mei Ling was very intelligent and soon mastered all skills she was taught.

There was a very strict rule for the White Cloud Mountain Clan; men were not allowed on White Cloud Mountain and to be kept at a distance. It was rumored that Lady Peony had been deserted by her lover and she had hated men ever since. Lady Peony had made it a rule that all her students were to remain pure and virginal and to avoid any contact with men. Lady Peony’s students were afraid of her and were very obedient; none of them had dared to question Lady Peony’s authority or her preaching.

Mei Ling was the only rebellious one. Mei Ling did not join the White Cloud Mountain Clan until she was seven. Mei Ling had been adored and spoiled by her father’s unconditional love for her until she came to White Cloud Mountain. Though Mei Ling was grateful to Lady Peony for saving her life, secretly she had questioned Lady Peony’s unnatural hate of men.

Mei Ling grew up to be an exquisite beauty with beautiful expressive eyes, a cute nose, flawless complexion and a cheeky smile. She had an endearing, loving and generous spirit about her that caused her to be adored by all, especially Lady Peony. Mei Ling had always been full of mischief and had played tricks on everyone in the Clan. However she had never played any tricks with malicious intent and the tricks were harmless so when she was caught, she would get scolded or punished by being made to stay in the quiet room to reflect on her misbehavior. Lady Peony loved Mei Ling very much and could not bring herself to punish Mei Ling severely so Mei Ling had led a carefree life, spoiled by everyone around her. It was almost like her life with her father except she had to train daily in martial arts.

One year ago, Mei Ling had sneaked away from White Cloud Mountain to play in the city. Mei Ling had seen a temple in the distance and there was something familiar about it, something that had drawn Mei Ling to walk towards the temple. There were many guards standing at the entrance and they had refused to allow Mei Ling to enter the temple.

Mei Ling had never been one to accept defeat or refusal of any kind. She wanted to go into the temple and she was going in so she started to fight with the guards and managed to slip past them. She ran into the main praying hall and turned around to stick her tongue out at the men. They were furious at her cheekiness and advanced menacingly. Mei Ling laughed at them and ran around in the hall, pushing people over in her haste to avoid the guards when she grabbed a hold of a tall middle-aged man to hide behind him.

The middle-aged man caught hold of Mei Ling’s arm, hurting her, “Let go of me, you are a mean bully. You are shameless. You are hurting me! Ouch!” Mei Ling had called out in pain when the man applied some pressure on her arm, causing her to cry real tears. She looked up to glare at the man and blanched.

Chapter 28

The man looking down at Mei Ling was her father! He was still very handsome though he had a few wrinkles around his eyes that weren’t there when she had last seen him. Mei Ling whispered, “Father, is that you?”

The middle-aged man looked at Mei Ling closely, as recognition hit him. It was Mei Ling, his beloved daughter, “Heavens, Ling Er, is that really you, my precious, precious daughter?” the middle-aged man took Mei Ling in a bear hug, holding her tightly as though he was afraid that if he loosened his hold on her, she would disappear.

“Father!” Mei Ling returned her father’s hug, crying hard.

They remained in each other’s arms tightly for a long time; the middle-aged man had tears streaming down his handsome face as he broke the embrace to gaze down at his daughter’s face lovingly. Though Mei Ling’s father had not changed much in appearance except for a couple more wrinkles since they had last seen each other, there were substantial changes to Mei Ling’s appearance. When Mei Ling disappeared, she was child, now she is a very beautiful teenager; as she smiled through her tears, her smile was radiant like the burst of a rainbow after a rainstorm. Mei Ling’s father wiped her tears away from her cheeks tenderly and looked at her in wonderment. He could hardly believe that he had his beloved daughter back after so many years. He had missed her so much and had been so lonely without her.

Mei Ling’s father took her and turned to kneel down in front of the altar. They both thanked the Gods and Heaven for their reunion. Later Mei Ling’s father told her that her mother had died shortly after Mei Ling disappeared. He had ordered an extensive search for Mei Ling after the massacre on the escorts was discovered but no trace of her could be found. He had never fully given up hope of finding her. Each year he came on the anniversary of Mei Ling’s disappearance to pray in the temple for her safe return. He was so happy that his prayers had been answered and he had his precious little girl back.

Mei Ling told her father that she had been rescued and taken in by a famous martial arts expert, Lady Peony who had taught her martial arts. At first Mei Ling’s father was upset that Lady Peony had kept Mei Ling instead of bringing her home but Mei Ling was able to pacify her father that it was good thing that she had not been returned to her father because another attempt could have been made to kill her. Mei Ling suspected that her mother had been poisoned and that someone had sent those men to kill her and her escorts. Mei Ling told her father to be grateful to Lady Peony for rescuing her and keeping her safe.

Mei Ling’s father agreed and had offered to reward Lady Peony. Mei Ling was quick to tell her father not to bother Lady Peony, as she knew that her Sifu was eccentric and might not appreciate strangers intruding on White Cloud Mountain even if it was to bring gifts as thanks and appreciation. Mei Ling’s father had agreed reluctantly to let matter rest.

Mei Ling went home with her father. Her father was very rich and very powerful. Mei Ling was afforded every luxury imaginable, she had servants to attend to all her needs and beautiful clothes that enchanted her and no one had dared to offend her in any way.

Mei Ling’s father’s first wife was very surprised to see Mei Ling, she was very angry that the thorn in her side was back in the house but she was cautious enough not to show her disapproval. During the years of Mei Ling’s disappearance, life had been hard for every one in the Chu household. The first wife had thought that Mei Ling’s father would turn to her when Mei Ling was not longer in the house but she was wrong. Mei Ling’s father became very depressed and moody and every trivial matter could set him off and everyone had felt the brunt of his anger. He hardly visited his first wife and after Mei Ling’s mother died, things became worse. Mei Ling’s father had refused to see his first wife and she had spent her days alone in her luxurious quarters.

The first wife pretended to welcome Mei Ling back and showered her with gifts of beautiful clothes and delicious condiment. Mei Ling was very intelligent and felt the insincerity in the first wife’s kind gestures. Mei Ling also suspected that the first wife was the one who had plotted to have her killed years ago though she had no proof. She was careful not to eat anything that the first wife gave her. Mei Ling was also not very happy to be in the Chu household as there were restrictions on her movements. Her father had assigned many men to protect her and Mei Ling was unhappy to have every step that she took scrutinized. She was used to the carefree lifestyle she had with Lady Peony. Mei Ling was full of mischief and tricks and had managed to evade her escorts or bodyguards on many occasions.

One day Mei Ling had evaded her escorts again; she left her father’s house and went into the city for some fun. She had heard about the invaluable statue being escorted by the Miao Tung Escort Agency to the Chin Family in the city. Mei Ling had met the owner of Miao Tung Escort before and had found him arrogant and obnoxious so she decided to play a trick on him and stole the statue from right under his nose. However due to Kiu Wai’s interference, Miao had his statue back and that was also the beginning of Mei Ling’s love-hate relationship with Kiu Wai.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 29

The White Cloud Mountain Clan members lived a secluded life in the mountains and there wasn’t much contact with strangers. They get supplies and groceries every week from the village at the foot of the mountain; otherwise the only other activity they took part in was to practice martial arts stances from the White Cloud Mountain Clan. All the students except for Mei Ling were orphans brought up by Lady Peony and they all regarded Lady Peony as their mother and her word was the law.

During the time that Mei Ling spent with her Sifu she had been told repeatedly that men were not to be trusted, that they were selfish and were unable to be faithful, that they were only concerned with their own needs, that they would only bring pain to a woman’s life and that they would discard a woman as easily as they would discard a pair of dirty suit. All the students of White Cloud Mountain had sworn to forsake men.

Mei Ling’s first encounter and experience with Kiu Wai had made a poor and unfavorable impression on her because Kiu Wai had been mean to her. She had every intention to avenge the insult that Kiu Wai had dealt her and it was pure coincidence that she had caught Kiu Wai in that trap she had found in the forest. It had been a game for her until the snake had bitten Kiu Wai. Mei Ling had been genuinely remorseful that her prank had indirectly caused Kiu Wai’s life threatening injury.

Mei Ling had brought Kiu Wai to her Sifu for help even though she knew that men weren’t allowed on White Cloud Mountain. When her Sifu refused to help Kiu Wai, Mei Ling had stayed with Kiu Wai the whole night in the pouring rain, praying that he would recover. With her Sifu’s instructions, Mei Ling had worked diligently to heal Kiu Wai’s injury. After Kiu Wai’s injury was healed, Mei Ling had broken her promise to her Sifu and had refused to ask Kiu Wai to marry her. Although Mei Ling was young and inexperienced, she had wanted Kiu Wai to marry her because he loved her and not because her Sifu had forced him to or because he had felt indebted to her. Mei Ling would rather have her Sifu punished her than to force Kiu Wai to marry her.

Mei Ling did not tell Kiu Wai how she felt and the sacrifice she had made for his happiness. They had grown close during the time when Kiu Wai had helped her in her recuperation and she had fallen in love with Kiu Wai. When Mei Ling met Yuen Li Xiang for the first time, she had felt the hostility in Yuen Li Xiang and then had been shocked by the insult from Yuen Li Xiang. Later when she witnessed the incriminating scene between Yuen Li Xiang and Kiu Wai, she naively believed that her Sifu had been right and that men could not be trusted nor could they be faithful.

Mei Ling had ran home to her father and had been miserable for a couple of days until her fighting spirits caused her to leave her home to seek Kiu Wai out to exact her revenge. However she was reluctant to go to the inn because she was afraid that she would find him with Yuen Li Xiang. Although she didn’t want to admit it, Mei Ling was jealous of Yuen Li Xiang.

Mei Ling decided to go to Chi Lam Monastery where an important martial arts competition was to be held and every martial arts expert worth his salt in the Mo Lam was going to be there and Mei Ling was excited about such an important tournament. On the way to Chi Lam monastery Mei Ling had stopped at the river to get a drink and had another encounter with Kiu Wai. Mei Ling had refused to listen to Kiu Wai’s pleas because she was afraid that he would hurt her and betray her again with Yuen Li Xiang or another woman. She had hardened her heart and left Kiu Wai even though she had wanted to stay with him and be loved by him.

Chapter 30

Mei Ling was in the Green Dragon Town when she decided to stop for some refreshment. Mei Ling was walking along the main street of the town when she saw Yuen Li Xiang walking with a man into a restaurant. Mei Ling decided to spy on them because their body language screamed of intimacy. Mei Ling was curious about their relationship since Yuen Li Xiang had been intimate with Kiu Wai just a couple of days ago! Unobserved by the couple, Mei Ling found a table nearby and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Miss Li Xiang, what can I do for you,” the man in a green suit asked Yuen Li Xiang.

“Hero Chin, the Green Snake Cult is well known in the Mo Lam and I appreciate that you as the leader would agree to see me today,” Yuen Li Xiang told the man in green.

The man in green, Chin Yiu Kei patted Yuen Li Xiang’s hand with familiarity, “Miss Li Xiang, you know that I will do anything for you. Your sweet smile had me bewitched, I dreamt of you every night since our last meeting. I was so happy to receive word that you wanted to see me again.”

Yuen Li Xiang waved her pink chiffon handkerchief at Chin Yiu Kei, “Ah, Hero Chin, please don’t make fun of this lowly maid. I felt so honored that Hero Chin would even spare a minute to think about me. You are a very important person in the Mo Lam and I really needed some help. I am so upset,” Yuen Li Xiang started to cry.

Chin Yiu Kei was shocked, “Miss Li Xiang, please tell me the reason you were so upset. Did someone offend you in any way?”

“Oh Hero Chin, I, I am being bullied and maligned. I have no one to turn to for help. If this continued, I don’t even want to go on living,” Yuen Li Xiang wept piteously.

“Miss Li Xiang, who had dared to bully and malign your good name? I promise to do the best I can to take care of the problem for you. Please let me know the name of the culprit,” Chin Yiu Kei promised Yuen Li Xiang.

Yuen Li Xiang hid a cunning smile behind her handkerchief, “Thank you Hero Chin for offering your help. I will tell you from the beginning. I came from a small village thirty miles from here. I have a cousin brother whom I love very much. We grew up together. He told me to come with him to the big city so that he could find work. Now he has found another girl he is interested in and he had abandoned me. I don’t know what to do. I do not have any relatives whom I could turn to for help, I am so upset over this.”

“What a scoundrel! What is his name? I will kill him for you. As for you being alone, I would love to have you in my house as an honored guest,” Chin Yiu Kei told Yuen Li Xiang.

“Hero Chin, I don’t want you to hurt my cousin. It is that girl’s fault. She latched onto my cousin like a leech and used her beauty to bewitch my cousin. She had also talked bad things about me and maligned my good name and now my cousin doesn’t want to have anything to do with me,” Yuen Li Xiang turned on the waterworks, weeping copiously.

“Miss Li Xiang, please don’t cry. I will take care of the girl for you. What is her name and where can I find your cousin and her?” Chin Yiu Kei asked.

“Her name is Chu Mei Ling. She is on her way to Chi Lam Monastery. She had left my cousin back in the Capital and told him that she would come back to him if he kills me. My cousin refused to hurt me but he would not have anything to do with me either since he lost his great love because of me,” Yuen Li Xiang lied.

“I will take care of the girl for you. As for your cousin, are you still pining for him?” Chin Yiu Kei asked jealously.

“Oh no, Hero Chin. I am through with my cousin but I still care for him since we grew up together. It was not his fault and he did not mistreat me. Like I say before it was Chu Mei Ling’s fault, she was the evil fox. I hate her and I want her dead,” Yuen Li Xiang swore vehemently.

Chin Yiu Kei promised to get rid of Chu Mei Ling for Yuen Li Xiang and after obtaining particulars about Mei Ling; Chin Yiu Kei once again invited Yuen Li Xiang to stay at his home. Yuen Li Xiang told him that she would as soon as he killed Mei Ling for her. They chatted a little bit more on trivial matters then they parted ways.

Mei Ling had been angry with Kiu Wai because she thought that he had an affair with Yuen Li Xiang. Now she finds out that Yuen Li Xiang has been trying to get Chin Yiu Kei to kill her because Kiu Wai had broken off his relationship with her. From Yuen Li Xiang’s lies about her relationship with Kiu Wai, Yuen Li Xiang was a compulsive liar. Mei Ling realized that she had misconstrued that incriminating scene. Mei Ling believed that Kiu Wai had told her the truth, that he had been asleep when Yuen Li Xiang tried to seduce him. The fact that Kiu Wai had broken off his relationship with Yuen Li Xiang meant that he was serious about wanting to be with her instead of being with Yuen Li Xiang. Mei Ling also sensed that Chin Yiu Kei was jealous of Kiu Wai and was planning to hurt Kiu Wai so Mei Ling decided to double back to the Capital.

Chapter 31

Kiu Wai decided that he should keep an eye on Minister Lu Pang since he would be the one to get Princess Siong Siong if she was captured. The Central Plains was too vast to even begin looking for Princess Siong Siong and Kiu Wai needed some help. Kiu Wai began staking out at the Lu Mansion as discretely as possible. He saw the smelly old Beggar Chan on the streets and decided to enlist his help. Kiu Wai told Beggar Chan to get some of his beggar friends to keep an eye on the going-ons in the Lu Mansion so that he could keep himself out of sight. He also told Beggar Chan to look for Princess Siong Siong. Beggar Chan was happy to oblige especially when Kiu Wai offered him fifty silver taels to share with his friends.

Kiu Wai got himself a jug of wine, he walked out of the city and stopped at shady spot under a huge elm tree to rest and drink his loneliness away. It had been a couple of days since he last saw Mei Ling and he missed her very much. Even though Kiu Wai knew that it was useless to dream about Mei Ling, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about her. It was a hot day with the sun blazing down; Kiu Wai continued to drink from the jug and was soon lulled to sleep in the warm still air with the buzz of the flies overhead.

Suddenly Kiu Wai heard a sound and was instantly awake. He looked around but couldn’t see anything suspicious so he dismissed it as his imagination. He took a gulp from the jug of wine absent-mindedly and spat that out immediately. His tongue felt like it was on fire! He jumped up trying to find something to soothe the burning sensation in his tongue. Tears were rolling down his cheeks! He remembered seeing a stream nearby and hurriedly rushed over to the stream. He squatted down and tried to scoop some water to drink when he sensed someone behind him. Before that person could push him over, Kiu Wai grabbed a hold of the dainty ankle of the attacker and pulled, toppling the attacker onto the ground.

The very next second Kiu Wai was on top of the petite figure of ….Chu Mei Ling! Mei Ling struggled to get away from under Kiu Wai but he was too heavy, “Let me go, let me go! Get off me, you Oaf! Stop, stop!” Mei Ling laughed and squirmed as Kiu Wai started to tickle her. She was laughing so much that she had tears in her eyes, “Please stop, please stop!” she begged.

Kiu Wai stopped tickling Mei Ling but he continued to straddle her, holding her hands on the ground. Kiu Wai was elated to see Mei Ling again, glad to have her in his arms again. He stared at Mei Ling lovingly and vowed that he was not going to let her go ever again.

Earlier on when Kiu Wai had woken up with a start, he had sensed that he was not alone. He pretended as though he was not aware of anything and took a gulp from the wine. As soon as he tasted the wine, he knew it was spiked with pepper. He spat the wine out and pretended to be hurt and rushed to the stream for a drink. He knew that Mei Ling was the only one mischievous enough to pull such a prank on him and he wanted to lure her out in the open. Sure enough Mei Ling fell for his act and when she crept up behind him with intention to push him into the stream, he caught a hold of her ankle, he pulled her onto the ground and had her at his mercy.

They stared at each other without speaking. Kiu Wai released Mei Ling’s hands and brought them up to his lips and pressed a kiss on the palms. Mei Ling snatched her hands away but she made no attempts to push Kiu Wai off of her. Mei Ling looked absolutely adorable lying there; her hair ruffled, her face flushed, her mesmerizing eyes sparkled with challenge and her lips slightly parted, inviting him to kiss her. With a groan, Kiu Wai bent his head and held her face between his hands and captured her lips in a deep passionate kiss; his tongue seeking the sweetness within, causing her to swoon.

When Kiu Wai finally lifted his head from hers, Mei Ling looked at him bemusedly and blushed when he brushed his fingertip softly over her slightly swollen lips. “Mei Ling, I have missed you so much, will you stay with me?”

“I have missed you too,” Mei Ling shyly admitted but the very next minute, she took him by surprise and pushed him off of her and rolled away from him. She turned her back to him.

Kiu Wai put his arms around Mei Ling, hugging her protectively, “Mei Ling, please forgive me. Let us forget about Li Xiang and start over again.”

At the mention of Yuen Li Xiang, Mei Ling turned around with her eyes flashing, “What was Miss Li Xiang’s relationship with you? Did you promise to marry her?”

“I met Li Xiang when I first came to the Central Plains from Mongolia. Her mother was trying to sell her to raise money to bury her father. I helped them by giving them money to bury her father and she offered herself as my maid even though I didn’t need one. I had allowed her to follow me because she insisted and she would have been helpless on her own. I liked her and treated her as a sister and we had a platonic relationship. I knew that she was in love with me but I have never loved her nor have I encouraged her in any way. I never promised to marry Li Xiang. After what happened the last time, I had told her that I do not want to see her again,” Kiu Wai explained with sincerity.

Mei Ling seemed satisfied with his answers. “Alright, we will not mention Miss Li Xiang ever again. I still intend to go to Chi Lam Monastery where an important martial arts competition would take place. Every martial arts expert in the Mo Lam worth his salt would be there. It is going to be exciting, we can learn a lot just by watching, let’s us go there together,” with that Mei Ling tried to drag Kiu Wai with her.

“No, wait, Mei Ling. We cannot go to Chi Lam Monastery yet. I overheard a sinister plot by Minister Lu Pang to kidnap Princess Siong Siong of Mongolia in order to create chaos by provoking a war between the Central Plains and Mongolia. Then Minister Lu intended to topple the current King to gain power in the Palace. I would like to help prevent Princess Siong Siong from getting hurt,” Kiu Wai told Mei Ling.

“Xia Kiu Wai, I cannot believe that I was naïve enough to trust you to love me. First Miss Li Xiang and then Princess Siong Siong. Why do you have to be the hero to rescue damsels in distress? I would wager that you want to be the Prince Consort to the Princess,” with that Mei Ling let go of Kiu Wai’s arm and turned on her heels to leave.

Chapter 32

Kiu Wai held onto Mei Ling tight, “Mei Ling, please let me explain. I do not have the ambition to be a Prince Consort. I happened to overhear that sinister plot and I do not want the innocent Princess Siong Siong to be a pawn in the evil men’s strive for power. Please do not think that I have an ulterior motive in my wish to help an innocent girl. The only person I care about and love is you.”

“I don’t believe you. Why would you want me when you could have a princess for a wife if you did succeed in helping her?” Mei Ling asked sulkily.

“Mei Ling, please have faith in me, I am not an ambitious man. I like a simple life and simple things. I don’t want a princess for a wife,” Kiu Wai tried to convince Mei Ling.

“Well, if that hadn’t been your goal, then you do not have to do anything for Princess Siong Siong. I want you to come with me now to Chi Lam Monastery,” Mei Ling insisted.

“Mei Ling, please be reasonable. I want to help Princess Siong Siong who is an innocent victim in this planned betrayal; I have known her since childhood and she had been like a sister to me. It was the right and honorable thing to do, helping people who were weak and in need. That was the oath I took when I started practicing martial arts,” Kiu Wai was firm as he tried to convince Mei Ling that his intention was honorable.

Mei Ling still had her back turned to him but not as stiffly as before. Kiu Wai was slightly relieved, he wanted to help Princess Siong Siong but he didn’t want Mei Ling to be angry with him so he thought of a cunning plan. He tried to appeal to Mei Ling’s mischievous nature, “Look, Mei Ling, just think how upset Minister Lu would be if his plot had failed and the King found out about it and Minister Lu got punished. I haven’t thought of a plan yet but I know that you could and we would have a lot of fun messing up Minister Lu’s evil plans.”

Mei Ling fell for Kiu Wai’s ploy, she turned around with her eyes sparkling with mischief, “Since you put it that way, I am all for ruining Minister Lu’s plans. He was a respected high ranked official who was supposedly loyal to the King and it was inconceivable that he would betray the King to take power for himself. Ambition does make fools and traitors out of men.”

Mei Ling did not tell Kiu Wai that she had seen Yuen Li Xiang with Chin Yiu Kei. She had returned to the Capital because she was worried about Kiu Wai’s safety. Though she was not too happy that Kiu Wai had refused to go with her to Chi Lam Monastery right away because he wanted to help the Princess Siong Siong, she could forgive him for that. Mei Ling was mischievous in nature, but she had a great sense of honor and loyalty, and she was loyal to her country and her king.

Kiu Wai and Mei Ling decided to go to a quiet place to think of plan and they went out of the city gate and found an abandoned building as temporary quarters. They caught a rabbit and grilled it over the fire, which they had built for warmth. They spent their time talking and getting to know each other with Mei Ling snuggling comfortably in Kiu Wai’s protective arms. Kiu Wai told Mei Ling about his childhood and life in Mongolia with his grandparents practicing martial arts skills and learning about herbal medicine from his grandfather. He also told her that he came to the Central Plains to look for his biological parents. Mei Ling told Kiu Wai about her abduction and her life with Lady Peony and her reunion with her father.

After the meal, they laid down to sleep, with Kiu Wai holding Mei Ling protectively in his arms even in his sleep. A few hours had passed with Kiu Wai fast asleep when Mei Ling suddenly opened her eyes. She removed herself cautiously from Kiu Wai’s arms. She crept stealthily away from the warmth of the fire and out of the abandoned building. Once outside, Mei Ling ran towards the forest. Unbeknownst to her, Kiu Wai had woken up the minute she moved out of his arms. Kiu Wai was curious about Mei Ling being so secretive and decided to follow her. He saw Mei Ling ran into the forest and met with a handsome young man dressed in black. Kiu Wai hid behind a tree to observe their clandestine meeting.

The young man bowed respectfully to Mei Ling and they stood very close together and engaged in an animated conversation in whispers. The young man kept shaking his head to whatever Mei Ling was suggesting and Mei Ling stomped her foot and turned her back on the young man sulkily. The young man seemed to be pleading with Mei Ling but Mei Ling was adamant. Suddenly Mei Ling snatched the dagger from the young man’s belt and held the blade to his neck and threatened, “Han Yao Tien, if you tell my father any of my plans, I am going to hunt you down and cut your tongue off and don’t think for a minute that I wouldn’t do it!”

The young man had cold sweat running down his forehead, “What am I going to tell your father? He will have my head for not bringing you home.”

“Tell him that I will be home shortly and that there wasn’t any need for him to worry about me. Tell him that if he sends someone else to keep tabs on me again, I will run far away and he won’t see me ever again!” Mei Ling instructed the young man.

“Miss Mei Ling, You really wanted me to lose my head, don’t you? Please come home and tell him that yourself. As for the man you were with, how long have you known him? It is not proper for you to be so intimate with a man. Heads will fall when your father finds out about him,” the young man warned Mei Ling.

Mei Ling blushed but quickly recovered her poise; “He is my bodyguard so I should be safe roaming in the Mo Lam. I really don’t care what you tell my father but if it is anything that causes him to send someone to force me home, you won’t live to see another sunrise when I am home. Now go away and leave me alone,” Mei Ling ordered and turned on her heels to run back to the abandoned building.

The young man shook his head slightly in defeat and went in the opposite direction. Kiu Wai decided to follow him and see where he was going. The young man sensed that he was being followed and used his lightness martial arts skills to escape but Kiu Wai managed to jump ahead of him and blocked his path of escape. The young man looked at Kiu Wai with admiration for his high level of lightness martial arts skills. He cupped his right hand over his left fist and greeted, “May I know the reason you are blocking my path? Water from the river should not disturb water from a well.”

“I am Xia Kiu Wai, just being curious about your relationship with Miss Chu Mei Ling,” Kiu Wai replied with deliberate calmness.

“I don’t know whom you are talking about,” the young man lied.

“Wrong answer, you know very well I meant the girl you were talking to in the forest just now. Who are you and what is your relationship to her?” Kiu Wai insisted.

The young man refused to answer and turned to leave but Kiu Wai started to engage him in a hand-to-hand combat. Soon they were fighting ferociously, with the young man on the losing end. In the midst of their fighting, Mei Ling had returned and came between them and broke up their fight.

“Kiu Wai, why were you attacking my friend?” Mei Ling asked Kiu Wai as she stood between Kiu Wai and the young man. She nodded for the young man to leave; he obeyed immediately and hurried away.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 33

The young man Han Yao Tien had used his lightness martial arts skills to escape from Kiu Wai while Mei Ling engaged Kiu Wai in a hand-to-hand combat. He was not worried that Kiu Wai would hurt Mei Ling because he had seen how protective Kiu Wai had been with Mei Ling. Han Yao Tien had been sent by his master to look for Mei Ling when she did not return home. Han Yao Tien went around searching for Mei Ling and the last destination was White Cloud Mountain. Han Yao Tien arrived at White Cloud Mountain around the time Kiu Wai was fighting with Lady Peony. Han Yao Tin had been shocked by the power of Kiu Wai’s martial arts skills and his internal energy.

Han Yao Tien continued to watch over the couple and had seen Kiu Wai taking care of Mei Ling after she was injured. Han Yao Tien was happy when Mei Ling left Kiu Wai after she found Kiu Wai with Li Xiang. King Chu was out hunting when Mei Ling went home but she didn’t stay at home long. As soon as Mei Ling disappeared again while King Chu was still at the hunting grounds, Han Yao Tien had gone back out to the Mo Lam to look for Mei Ling.

Han Yao Tien had found Mei Ling with Kiu Wai again in the abandoned building and had signaled Mei Ling to meet with him in the forest. It was unfortunate that Mei Ling had refused to go home with him and Kiu Wai had tried to find out more about Mei Ling from him. Han Yao Tien was happy that Mei Ling had came back to stop the fight between Kiu Wai and himself. Han Yao Tien knew that he would not be able to defeat Kiu Wai in any fights and he was anxious to get back to his master to report that he had found Mei Ling and that she was in good hands. “If only my master would accept my report without throwing a fit about not getting Miss Mei Ling home,” the handsome young man sighed, not at all enthusiastic about his task ahead.

Han Yao Tin found his horse where he had left him, grazing in the secluded clearing in the woods. He rode off hurriedly towards the Capital. After getting past all the guards, he came to a beautiful tranquil inner court, which was suffused with vibrant fragrant flowers surrounding a small pond. A tall middle-aged man was standing with his back to Han Yao Tien. Han Yao Tien squared his shoulders, and knelt down to greet the middle-aged man respectfully, “Your humble servant Han Yao Tien greets His Majesty, wishing His Majesty good health and longevity.”

The middle-aged man turned around to face Han Yao Tien; he was the former Prince Chu Xin Lung. King Chu Xin Lung was a little older, with a few wrinkles around his sharp intelligent eyes. He was still very handsome with a calm dignified air around him. He became king when his father, the late King Chu died three years ago. King Chu Xin Lung looked at Han Yao Tien with a slight frown, “You may stand up. Where is Princess Mei Ling? I thought I told you not to come back without her.”

Han Yao Tien was afraid to stand up, “Your Majesty, please have mercy on this incompetent servant. Princess Mei Ling came home a couple of days ago while you were away. Then she left again and I just found Princess Mei Ling yesterday but I was not successful in persuading Her Royal Highness to come home with me.”

King Chu Xin Lung looked slightly annoyed but he calmly ordered Han Yao Tien to stand up. Chu Xin Lung had remained a humble man despite being the King. He had always hated to have people bowing and kneeling when they greeted him but because of the Imperial Court Protocol, he had to tolerate that. “Where is Princess Mei Ling now? Is she doing alright and what is she up to? I worry about her safety. You shouldn’t have come back without her. You should have stayed with her to protect her and send a message to me,” admonished King Chu Xin Lung.

“This incompetent servant deserved to die but please have mercy. I am so sorry but Princess Mei Ling had refused adamantly to come home with me. Her Royal Highness had threatened to cut off my tongue if I tell Your Majesty about her plans. I dared not use force to bring Princess Mei Ling back to the Palace. I could not use force even if I had dared. A handsome young man accompanied Princess Mei Ling and was introduced as Her Royal Highness’ bodyguard. His name was Xia Kiu Wai. His level of martial arts skills was extremely high, I doubt if anyone in the Mo Lam could have defeated him in a fight. He was the student of The Northern Heretical Duo and from the power of his internal energy; they must have transferred all their internal energy to him. He was able to withstand three blows including the Mountain Shattering Palm Stance from Lady Peony with hardly any injury and Lady Peony was not able to touch him when they were engaged in a serious hand-to-hand combat,” Han Yao Tien related.

“Princess Mei Ling is with a young man who was student of The Northern Heretical Duo? The Northern Heretical Duo was a married couple, Liang Yik and Chiu Suen Yi. They were not from the evil clans but they were eccentric. My Sifu told me about them, that they had killed without making a distinction if the person was from the evil clan or the righteous clan. They snubbed the Mo Lam and the rules of the martial arts world. Those who had dared to challenge The Northern Heretical Duo had been severely injured or killed. Liang Yik had some compassion and would try to heal those injured by the lethal poisonous internal energy from Chiu Suen Yi,” King Chu Xin Lung frowned with his recollection of the stories his Sifu told about the notorious Northern Heretical Duo.

“I am surprised that the eccentric couple took in any students. They were greatly feared in the Mo Lam but they had disappeared almost two decades ago. It was odd that their student was suddenly active in the Mo Lam. I am very worried about the safety of Princess Mei Ling, who knows what that young man would do to her? Does he know Princess Mei Ling’s real identity?” King Chu Xin Lung was frowning with worry about his beloved royal daughter’s safety.

“Your Majesty, I don’t think Princess Mei Ling told him her real identity. Princess Mei Ling insisted that I call Her Royal Highness Miss Mei Ling. I have seen Xia Kiu Wai’s interaction with Princess Mei Ling. I think he was in love with Her Royal Highness. He was very protective of Her Royal Highness and had taken care of and healed her when she was injured. He would be the best bodyguard for Princess Mei Ling since he was almost invincible with his martial arts skills,” Han Yao Tin timidly offered his observations to his King.

“If this Xia Kiu Wai took after The Northern Heretical Duo in their footsteps, he could be a danger to Princess Mei Ling. I am going to bring her back to the palace myself,” with that King Chu Xin Lung turned to walk back to his private quarters. King Chu Xin Lung was very upset and worried about his daughter’s safety especially she was spending time alone with a young man. He decided that he would go out to look for Princess Mei Ling and bring her home.

Chapter 34

Flashback to eighteen years ago,

Life had been uneventful for Prince Chu Xin Lung. He had married Lady Rose to please and help his father King Chu to secure loyalty from Lady Rose’s family. Prince Xin Lung did not love Lady Rose though he was very polite and pleasant to her. Prince Xin Lung had loved only Princess Chen Sin Mei and she had remained the only person in his heart. Prince Xin Lung had not visited Prince Wen Lun in order not to create any discord between Prince Wen Lun and Princess Sin Mei. Prince Xin Lung wanted Princess Sin Mei to be happy and he was an honorable man and had sworn that he would never betray his sworn brother Prince Wen Lun. Prince Xin Lung did think about them often.

When Lady Rose was unable to conceive, King Chu had persuaded Prince Xin Lung to take a second wife. It was normal for kings and princes to have three wives, four concubines and numerous mistresses. Lady Rose was upset about Prince Xin Lung getting a second wife but she had realistic conception of the Imperial Palace Protocol. Lady Rose knew that King Chu could have banished her from the palace if she had made a fuss. Lady Rose appealed to Prince Xin Lung’s compassionate nature and had extracted a promise from him that she would remain the number one wife even if the new wife would to bear him his heir.

Prince Xin Lung married Lady Jade, a very beautiful young girl who was the daughter of one of King Chu’s generals who was in charge of the military in the West. Lady Jade was cheerful, good-natured and well versed in literature and music. Prince Xin Lung had always been interested in literature and had got along very well with Lady Jade. He enjoyed his daily visits with Lady Jade and dreaded his obligatory visits with Lady Rose.

When Lady Jade gave birth to a baby girl, Prince Xin Lung was not disappointed. He fell in love with his beautiful daughter. Prince Xin Lung spent all his free time playing his daughter and was proud of her first steps on wobbly legs, her first words and all her developmental achievements. Princess Mei Lung was a very beautiful and intelligent little girl and her father adored her. Prince Xin Lung had taught Princess Mei Ling to read and write and she became the most important person in his life, it didn’t matter that she was a girl and that he needed a male heir. For the first time in his life, Prince Xin Lung had refused to obey King Chu’s order to take a third wife when Lady Jade had not been able to conceive again after the birth of Princess Mei Ling.

Life had been pleasant for Prince Xin Lung, Lady Jade and Princess Mei Ling until Lady Jade became very ill when Princess Mei Ling was seven. None of the physicians summoned to the palace could find out what was wrong with Lady Jade. As a last resort, Lady Jade was sent to a temple to stay and pray for recovery. Princess Mei Ling had accompanied her royal mother and on the way home Princess Mei Ling and her entourage were ambushed. The bodies of the slaughtered bodyguards were found but there were no signs of Princess Mei Ling.

For seven years Prince Xin Lung had mourned the disappearance of Princess Mei Ling. Posters with rewards for the safe return of Princess Mei Ling was posted everywhere but there was no information on her whereabouts. It was as if Princess Mei Ling had disappeared from the face of earth. Prince Xin Lung became very depressed and sullen. He had worked with King Chu diligently but he hardly smiled. He visited Lady Jade in the temple as often as he could until she died shortly after Princess Mei Ling’s disappearance. After Lady Jade’s death, Prince Xin Lung changed for the worse; he was very quiet and cold towards everyone around him. He refused to visit Lady Rose at all.

Every year on the anniversary of Princess Mei Ling’s disappearance, Prince Chu Xin Lung would visit the temple to pray for her safe return. When King Chu died, Prince Xin Lung became king of the Central Plains. He was a fair-minded monarch and was loved by his loyal subjects. When Princess Mei Ling literally ran into his arms a year ago, King Chu Xin Lung was ecstatic. He swore that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe and loved.

Chapter 35

A couple of months ago

King Chu was very upset, “Get Princess Mei Ling in here at once,” he ordered the guards. Earlier on Lady Rose had requested an audience with King Chu to complain about Princess Mei Ling. Lady Rose had been jealous of the close relationship between King Chu and Princess Mei Ling so she came to King Chu crying that Princess Mei Ling had been disrespectful to her. Lady Rose smiled secretly that King Chu was angry at Princess Mei Ling. Lady Rose thought that King Chu would punish Princess Mei Ling for being unkind and disrespectful towards her.

An hour later, a beautiful but untidy Princess Mei Ling came in to greet her royal father, without sparing a glance at Lady Rose, “Greetings from Ling Er, wishing my Royal Father good health. Were you looking for me?” Princess Mei Ling asked.

“Where have you been? I asked to see you an hour ago and why are you so untidy?” the King asked Princess Mei Ling with a slight annoyance in his voice.

“I was having a great time fighting with General Li’s men, they couldn’t defeat me. General Li said that my martial arts skill was excellent and that Lady Peony was a great Sifu. Aren’t you proud of me?” Princess Mei Ling asked her royal father, her eyes sparkling with pride unconcerned that her royal father was upset with her.

King Chu looked at Princess Mei Ling indulgently, “Ling Er, you shouldn’t be fighting with the men, you could have gotten hurt. You are grown up now and should behave like a lady, not a tomboy. Look how dirty and untidy you are!” King Chu scolded Princess Mei Ling half-heartedly. But as he glanced over at Lady Rose, he remembered the current dispute so he put on a stern expression and ordered Princess Mei Ling, “Naughty girl, kneel down!”

Princess Mei Ling looked up at her royal father in surprise; it was the first time her royal father had raised his voice at her, “Why?” She refused to kneel down, crossed her arms and pouted.

“Your Majesty, you can see how disobedient and disrespectful Princess Mei Ling was, even to Your Majesty,” Lady Rose cried. “If Your Majesty won’t punish Princess Mei Ling, I would lose all respect from my servants. I cannot continue to live.”

Princess Mei Ling looked at her royal father curiously, “What am I being accused of?”

King Chu told Princess Mei Ling, “Lady Rose told me that you were disrespectful and had insulted her by refusing to eat the delicacies she had offered you.”

“I do not think that I had been disrespectful to Lady Rose. I do not want to eat any delicacies she offered me because I do not trust her not to poison me. Am I wrong to protect myself from potential murder attempt?” Princess Mei Ling asked her royal father.

“Your Majesty, Princess Mei Ling is now accusing me of trying to poison her. All I did was to try to please her by giving her some delicacies to enjoy. Your Majesty, when are you going to punish her?” Lady Rose demanded.

King Chu asked silkily, “How would you like me to punish Princess Mei Ling?”

“She should be given ten whip lashes and locked up for a month for her insolence,” Lady Rose suggested spitefully.

Princess Mei Ling looked at her royal father incredulously but remained silent.

King Chu turned to his guards and ordered, “I want an immediate court meeting with all the officials attending.”

Lady Rose was happy. She thought that Princess Mei Ling would be punished in public in front of all those officials. She could hardly contain her glee and spite.

King Chu ordered Princess Mei Ling and Lady Rose to go out with him to the great hall of the palace. All the officials were gathered in the hall, all curious and anxious to find out what that emergency meeting was about. King Chu sat on his throne and both Princess Mei Ling and Lady Rose stood on either side of him.

After the usual greetings, King Chu asked his officials, “What was the oath you swore to when you were appointed to your positions?”

“Be loyal, respectful and honor our country, Your Majesty and Princess Mei Ling,” the officials spoke in unison. Lady Rose looked up in surprise and fear crept into her heart. She looked over at Princess Mei Ling who looked bored and impatient.

“What other oaths did you take in regard to Princess Mei Ling?” King Chu asked his court officials.

“Princess Mei Ling was to be protected at all costs and her commands were to be obeyed. Anyone who attempts to harm Princess Mei Ling would be executed without exceptions,” the officials answered. Realization dawned on Lady Rose the reason King Chu had ordered this court meeting.

“Your Majesty, please pardon me for my ignorance,” Lady Rose ran down the steps to hurriedly kneel down to beg for mercy. Her arrogance had vanished totally.

“Lady Rose, you have committed the most serious crime by trying to persuade me to punish Princess Mei Ling by having her whipped and locked up. Listen carefully, no one, I mean absolutely no one was to harm a hair on Princess Mei Ling’s head. All the officials and guards had to swear their loyalty to protect Princess Mei Ling with their lives. You think that just because you were my wife, you were better than any of the officials here? You were wrong. Princess Mei Ling is the most important person in my life, she had been taken from me for many years, now that I have her back, do you think I would allow anyone harm her? Lady Rose, I hereby sentenced you to be whipped ten times and then banished from the Central Plains,” King Chu pronounced.

Lady Rose almost fainted. Princess Mei Ling looked at her royal father in surprise. Now she knows the reason why everyone in the court and palace had treated her with utmost respect. She looked over at Lady Rose and sighed. Lady Rose looked at Princess Mei Ling and crawled over to her, “Princess Mei Ling, please pardon this ignorant old woman and help me.”

Princess Mei Ling had always been a kindhearted person so she took pity on Lady Rose. She turned to her royal father and whispered in his ears. King Chu shook his head but Princess Mei Ling pouted so he sighed, “Alright, Lady Rose. Princess Mei Ling had pleaded on behalf of you. You are going to be spared the whipping but you will be put under house arrest and not be permitted to leave your quarters until I give the orders otherwise. Guards, take her out.”

The palace guards took the weeping Lady Rose away. King Chu sighed, “Let this be a warning for all of you. Come, Ling Er, let’s go back to my study. I want to know what other mischief you had been up to,” King Chu teased Princess Mei Ling as a loving father to a naughty child. The court officials left the great hall after King Chu retired with Princess Mei Ling to the private quarters. They could only shake their heads that King Chu had put his number one wife under house arrest because of Princess Mei Ling. They all heeded the public warning; Princess Mei Ling was indeed the most important person in King Chu’s life.

Because of Princess Mei Ling’s mischievous nature, she had managed to evade her bodyguards and ran out of the palace to play. When Princess Mei Ling did not return home one day, King Chu Xin Lung was frantic with worry. He had sent Han Yao Tien to look discretely for Princess Mei Ling.

Chapter 36

Kiu Wai tried to follow Han Yao Tien but Mei Ling had engaged him in a hand-to-hand combat and by the time Kiu Wai had Mei Ling in an arm lock, the young man was nowhere to be seen. “Why do you maintain these measures of secrecy when you meet with your friend? Who is he and who are you?”

“I have told you that he is my friend and my father had sent him to bring me home. As for me I am Chu Mei Ling and my father is a very powerful man. Why are you being so suspicious? Don’t you trust me?” Mei Ling asked Kiu Wai impatiently.

Kiu Wai looked at Mei Ling thoughtfully and turned to walk back to the abandoned building, with Mei Ling at his heels, “Alright, what is your problem now? Why won’t you speak to me or answer my question?”

Just then they saw Yuen Li Xiang stumbling towards them. She was shivering with shock; her shirt was torn, exposing her pale skin. Kiu Wai noticed the bruises on her slim wrists as she tried to hold the edges of her torn shirt together and there were bruises on her face. The sight of Yuen Li Xiang’s battered face and her state of shock upset Kiu Wai. Li Xiang ran towards Kiu Wai and flung herself into his arms as she wept piteously. It was a long time before she finally calmed down and her tears stopped.

“Li Xiang, what had happened? Who had done this to you?” Kiu Wai asked Li Xiang with controlled anger in his voice.

Li Xiang looked up at Kiu Wai then turned to glare at Mei Ling who had been standing silently beside them the whole time observing Kiu Wai’s interaction with Li Xiang. Li Xiang shook her head and refused to answer Kiu Wai.

“Li Xiang, who had done this to you? Why won’t you give me an answer?” Kiu Wai repeated impatiently.

“Young Master Kiu Wai, I am afraid to tell you because you would not believe me anyway,” Li Xiang told Kiu Wai looking at Mei Ling accusingly.

Kiu Wai followed the direction of Li Xiang’s glare and looked at Mei Ling, “Do you know anything about Li Xiang’s injuries?”

“What are you trying to imply, that I did that to Miss Li Xiang?” Mei Ling was very angry and disappointed in Kiu Wai’s lack of faith in her.

“I didn’t say that it was you who did it, so stop being so defensive,” Kiu Wai snapped at Mei Ling and turned towards Li Xiang and asked her gently, “Li Xiang, you do not have to be afraid to tell me who had hurt you. I promise to find the culprit and take care of him.”

Li Xiang started sobbing loudly again, pressing herself tightly to Kiu Wai’s chest. Mei Ling was furious and jealous of the intimacy between Kiu Wai and Li Xiang. She balled her fists, longing to punch Li Xiang in her face for taking advantage of Kiu Wai’s compassion and hugging him.

Kiu Wai pulled away from Li Xiang to take off his outer cloak and placed it over her shoulders, “Li Xiang, please tell me who had hurt you.”

“It was a young man dressed in black. He waylaid me while I was on my way to visit a friend. He, he did monstrous things to me. After that he laughed mockingly at me, saying that no one would want a fallen woman. He told me that it was all my fault for trying to take away his mistress’s love interest,” Li Xiang sobbed loudly, her shoulders heaving with her cries.

“I don’t understand, were you hurt because of your involvement with a man?” Kiu Wai was clueless and puzzled.

Mei Ling knew exactly what Li Xiang was trying to imply. Mei Ling had not told Kiu Wai about seeing Li Xiang with Chin Yiu Kei and that Li Xiang had wanted Chin Yiu Kei to kill her. What a cunning evil woman! Mei Ling remained silent and did not reveal that she was aware of Li Xiang’s involvement with Chin Yiu Kei.

Li Xiang cried loudly, “Young Master Kiu Wai, that man had obviously been sent by Miss Mei Ling. She was jealous of our relationship and wanted the man to kill me. However he took pity on me and spared me my life, but I wished he had killed me instead.”

“Did he said that he was sent by Mei Ling to hurt you?” Kiu Wai asked incredulously. He looked at Mei Ling with an inscrutable expression on his face. Mei Ling looked at Kiu Wai back with disgust, disappointed in his blind trust in the cunning Li Xiang.

“No, he didn’t say directly that Miss Mei Ling was the one who had sent him. But I was not involved with a man except for you, Young Master Kiu Wai. I have told you that you would not believe me. You just don’t know how evil women can be. It was my fault for loving you and getting in Miss Mei Ling’s way. I am so ashamed of myself and I feel so dirty. You must be disgusted with me,” Li Xiang wept.

“Li Xiang, why do you say that? It wasn’t your fault; that man was an animal to attack a defenseless young girl. You do not have to be ashamed. I am going to find the culprit and get the name of the person who had sent him to hurt you. I don’t believe that Mei Ling was involved in this atrocity,” Kiu Wai told Li Xiang.

“Young Master Kiu Wai, I knew that you would not believe me. Why would you take the words of a poor defenseless maid over the words of Miss Mei Ling who was obviously rich and powerful?” with that Li Xiang turned away from Kiu Wai and ran off.

Kiu Wai was worried about Li Xiang’s state of mind and ran after her, leaving Mei Ling alone fuming that Kiu Wai had been taken in by Li Xiang’s lies. Mei Ling realized how dangerous Li Xiang was. She went back to the abandoned building and sat staring broodingly by the fire.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 37

When Kiu Wai came back to the abandoned building with Li Xiang he found the fire had almost died out, there had been signs of fighting and Mei Ling was missing. He also found traces of blood and had almost stepped on a golden hairpin that belonged to Mei Ling. His heart went cold with fear, something must have happened to Mei Ling. He turned on his heels to rush out of the building ignoring the cries of protests from Li Xiang. He had to find Mei Ling. He would not be able to forgive himself if Mei Ling were hurt in anyway. It was his fault for abandoning Mei Ling to run after Li Xiang.

Kiu Wai saw from a distance two men putting Mei Ling onto a horse. Kiu Wai jumped forward to engage them in a fight. One of them had got onto the horse and rode away with Mei Ling while the other man struggled to stop Kiu Wai from following his partner. Kiu Wai was upset and anxious to rescue Mei Ling. He used his high internal energy to hit at the man, without realizing how powerful it was and all the bones in the man were shattered, leaving him crippled on the ground. The injured man moaned with pain but Kiu Wai was already running after the accomplice who had abducted Mei Ling.

Suddenly a group of men in Taoist suits came out from behind the bushes and encircled Kiu Wai. They started to attack Kiu Wai with the Taoist Seven Star Formation Technique. When Kiu Wai was training with his grandparents, they had taught him the martial arts techniques from different clans and the way to defeat the opponents using those techniques. Kiu Wai was anxious to rescue Mei Ling so he was determined to use the quickest method to win the fight and be on his way. He went for the man whose position was in the center of the formation. Using the palm techniques from his grandfather, Kiu Wai managed to knock the man unconscious. The Seven Star Formation technique was ruined as the rest of the men scrambled to fill the void left by the unconscious man. Kiu Wai did not give them time to regroup. Kiu Wai swiftly turned to the next man in the vulnerable position and soon the man was knocked unconscious too. Then Kiu Wai aimed the internal energy of his grandfather towards the rest of the men and they were flung thirty feet away, seriously injured.

Kiu Wai wasted no time to jump away from the fighting site to run after the man who had abducted Mei Ling. The kidnapper had ridden too far away with the trail becoming fainter and soon Kiu Wai lost the trail altogether. Kiu Wai was frantic with worry. The Taoist priests were all gone, having taken their injured brothers with them. Kiu Wai doubled back to where the first injured man was and found him dead, with his throat slit. The mastermind of the abduction did not want Kiu Wai to find out his identity.

When Kiu Wai went back to the abandoned building Li Xiang was waiting for him by the fire, weeping. She jumped up and ran into Kiu Wai’s arms as soon as she saw him, “Young Master Kiu Wai, I am so happy to see you, I thought you had abandoned me!” She did not mentioned Mei Ling at all.

Kiu Wai pushed Li Xiang away from him, “Li Xiang, I have told you that I do not want you to rush into my arms any more. We have to abide by the rules of propriety. I do not want anyone misconstruing into our relationship.” He sat down and stared broodingly into the fire. He looked over at Li Xiang thoughtfully. It was strange that she did not even ask about Mei Ling. An ugly suspicion came to his mind but he dismissed it as being too outrageous. Li Xiang could not have anything to do with Mei Ling’s abduction. She had also been attacked and he shivered with apprehension that Mei Ling could have suffered similar fate.

Kiu Wai jumped up and paced around the building impatiently, “Li Xiang, I will escort you to the next town and you can wait for me there. I have to find Mei Ling and you would only hold me up.”

Kiu Wai hurried Li Xiang with him to the next town. They checked into an inn but when he tried to leave, Li Xiang was in tears and clung to him, “Young Master Kiu Wai, please don’t leave me. I am afraid that the man would come back to hurt me.”

Kiu Wai was impatient with Li Xiang’s tears, “You will be safe here. I have to go to find Mei Ling and I cannot take you with me,” with that he left her room. He was upset with Li Xiang’s absolute disinterest in Mei Ling’s safety, it was almost as if she had wanted to delay Mei Ling’s rescue.

“Think, who could have kidnapped Mei Ling and why would anyone kidnapped her?” Kiu Wai willed himself to have a clue to Mei Ling’s disappearance. Mei Ling had been gone for several hours and Kiu Wai was worried sick. He was sitting at a roadside tea stand when he saw the young man whom Mei Ling had met secretly in the forest. The young man Han Yao Tien was in a deep conversation with a tall middle-aged man as they walked away from the city.

Kiu Wai got up from his table, put some coins down and hurried after the young man, “Hero Han, please slow down for a minute. I need to talk to you,” Kiu Wai put a hand out to draw the young man’s attention.

The young man looked at Kiu Wai, “Oh! What a pleasant surprise, Young Hero Xia! What can I do for you? Why is Miss Mei Ling not with you?”

Chapter 38

“Mei Ling had been abducted late last night and I had been looking for her ever since,” Kiu Wai reported honestly.

“Mei Ling had been abducted?” the middle-aged man who was with Han Yao Tien exclaimed incredulously.

Kiu Wai looked at the handsome middle-aged man, wondering who he was. Han Yao Tien introduced King Chu Xin Lung to Kiu Wai, “This is my master, Mr. Chu Xin Lung. He is Miss Mei Ling’s father.” King Chu Xin Lung had insisted on looking for his royal daughter himself. He decided to go out incognito and Han Yao Tien had followed King Chu Xin Lung to protect him.

Kiu Wai bowed politely to King Chu, “I am sorry but it was my fault that Mei Ling had been abducted. I should have protected her more carefully.”

King Chu Xin Lung looked at Kiu Wai more closely and almost did a double take; he noted Kiu Wai’s handsome features and the air of nobility on him. Kiu Wai looked so familiar, “Young Man, what is your name and where are you from?”

“My name is Xia Kiu Wai, my grandparents The Northern Heretical Duo and I had lived in Mongolia since I was an infant. I think I am originally from the Central Plains.”

“You are not sure if you were from the Central Plains?” King Chu Xin Lung asked Kiu Wai, curious about the younger man who had resembled his sworn brother Prince Xia Wen Lun so closely when Prince Wen Lun was Kiu Wai’s age that they could have been identical twins.

“My grandparents found me at the border of the Central Plains during a blizzard seventeen years ago. I was the only survivor of a massacre,” Kiu Wai answered, he was curious about Mei Ling’s father’s interest in his identity.

King Chu Xin Lung looked at Kiu Wai thoughtfully and asked instead, “How did Mei Ling get abducted and by whom?”

Kiu Wai was slightly ashamed when he related the events leading to Mei Ling’s disappearance, the man he had injured and the fight he had with the Taoist priests. The martial arts experts sent to hinder Kiu Wai’s rescue of Mei Ling were not easily bribed and the care they took to kill the other injured man indicated the seriousness of the abduction. It had to come from a person with a lot of influence and power. Kiu Wai wondered about the reason Mei Ling was abducted, if there was any connection to the attempt on her life when she was a child.

Just then Beggar Chan came running up to Kiu Wai, “Young Hero Xia, where is Miss Chu Mei Ling?”

Kiu Wai turned to Beggar Chan, “Miss Mei Ling had been abducted. I have been trying to find her and I would like to get your assistance in tracking her down.”

“Young Hero Xia, that is what I have been afraid of, that Miss Mei Ling had been abducted. I heard about it in the streets that a reward for Miss Mei Ling’s head had been offered. I have been looking for both of you ever since,” Beggar Chan told Kiu Wai.

“A reward for Mei Ling’s head?” Kiu Wai repeated incredulously. “Why would anyone want Mei Ling dead?”

“Word was that the leader of The Green Snake Clan, Chin Yiu Kei was offering the reward. I heard that Chin Yiu Kei was interested in a girl who wanted Miss Mei Ling dead. He did it to please his love interest,” Beggar Chan reported.

“Li Xiang!” Kiu Wai exclaimed as he balled his fists up furiously. Kiu Wai turned on his heels to rush back to the inn where he had left Li Xiang. Han Yao Tien and King Chu Xin Lung looked at each other curiously and decided to follow Kiu Wai, with Beggar Chan at their heels.

When Kiu Wai went into Li Xiang’s room at the inn, he found the room in disarray, the table and chairs were overturned. He asked the servant who was tidying up the place, “What had happened? Where is the young girl who was a guest from this room?”

“A couple of men came to get the girl who was staying in the room. Before they left, they overturned the furniture and trashed the room,” the servant sighed.

“Did the girl go with the men willingly or was she forced?” Kiu Wai asked urgently.

“The young girl did not fight with them but followed them out,” the servant reported.

Kiu Wai turned to rush out but King Chu Xin Lung detained him, “You had better explain what had happened to Mei Ling before you go anywhere!”

Chapter 39

“I was traveling with a girl when I met Mei Ling. I broke off my relationship with Yuen Li Xiang but I think she was jealous of Mei Ling and somehow managed to get Chin Yiu Kei from the Green Snake Clan to abduct Mei Ling. These were just my suspicions and I believed that when we find Yuen Li Xiang we will find Mei Ling,” Kiu Wai explained.

“You mean to tell me that Mei Ling had been abducted and put in danger because of a girl’s jealousy over Mei Ling’s relationship with you?” King Chu Xin Lung thundered in fury, “If a hair on Mei Ling’s head was harmed because of you, you can be sure you won’t have an intact corpse when I am finished with you,” with that King Chu Xin Lung turned to Han Yao Tin and ordered, “Get your men ready. I want The Green Snake Clan headquarters and their branches uprooted and every single one of the members and their families arrested!”

Han Yao Tien knelt down in respect and obeyed, “Yes Master, I will get my men ready. We will find Miss Mei Ling,” but King Chu Xin Lung had already turned on his heels to storm out of the room. Han Yao Tien ran after King Chu Xin Lung to accompany him back to the palace.

Kiu Wai looked at King Chu Xin Lung and Han Yao Tien as they hurried from the room in puzzlement. Kiu Wai was upset that King Chu Xin Lung had threatened him but he could forgive King Chu Xin Lung because he was upset with himself that Mei Ling had been abducted and put in danger possibly because of Li Xiang’s jealousy of his relationship with Mei Ling. He was wondering about King Chu Xin Lung’s identity when Beggar Chan exclaimed, “What an idiot I had been! That was King Chu Xin Lung, no wonder he looked so familiar.”

Kiu Wai was shocked at Beggar Chan’s revelation that Mei Ling’s father was the king of the Central Plains, making Mei Ling a princess. Kiu Wai was more determined to save Mei Ling not so much as to save his own life but he felt guilty about putting Mei Ling in danger. He turned to Beggar Chan, “Elder Chan, please help me. I need your assistance in finding Princess Mei Ling. You have friends all over the Mo Lam and I would appreciate your help.”

“No problem. I will do my best to help find Princess Mei Ling and save her. She is a good person and I have not forgotten that she was kind to invite me for a meal when I was starving and to be kicked out of the inn. Don’t worry, Young Hero Xia, the Gods in Heaven would look out for Princess Mei Ling,” Beggar Chan tried to reassure Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai gave Beggar Chan a weak smile and walked out of the inn.

Kiu Wai was deep in thoughts when he almost walked into a man who was coming out of a restaurant. It was Yan Lik Fu from the White Tiger Clan who greeted Kiu Wai with friendliness, “Young Hero Xia, how are you doing? What a coincidence that we meet again.”

Kiu Wai raised his right hand to cup his left fist in greeting, “Hero Yan, how are you? What are you doing in the Capital?”

“The martial arts leaders from all the clans were invited to The Green Snake Clan headquarters to discuss about a Mongolian spy in the Central Plains,” Yan Lik Fu reported, “Maybe Young Hero Xia would like to attend the meeting.”

“Princess Siong Siong!” thought Kiu Wai, he had totally forgotten about her and that she also was in danger from Chin Yiu Kei and the martial arts experts from the rest of the Mo Lam. “It must be a very important meeting that had the righteous clans and the evil clans put aside their differences and unite,” remarked Kiu Wai.

“Young Hero Xia, normally the righteous clans would not mix with the evil clans but this concerns the future of The Central Plains. We have word that a spy from Mongolia had been active in the Central Plains and we cannot allow spies to run around freely,” Yan Lik Fu explained.

“In that case I would love to join you for the meeting at The Green Snake Clan’s headquarters,” Kiu Wai decided to see for himself the arrogance of the martial arts experts in the Mo Lam. In addition, Beggar Chan had said that Chin Yiu Kei from the Green Snake Cult was the one who put out a reward for Mei Ling’s head.

“I am so glad that Young Hero Xia decides to attend the meeting too. Let’s go together,” Yan Lik Fu was happy to be the one to introduce Kiu Wai to the rest of the Mo Lam.

Chapter 40

Most of the leaders of both the righteous clans and the evil clans had gathered in the main great hall of the Green Snake Clan’s mansion when Kiu Wai arrived with Yan Lik Fu. All the martial arts experts looked with interest at the handsome young man besides Yan Lik Fu who was introduced to them as Xia Kiu Wai, the student and grandchild of the Northern Heretical Duo.

Kiu Wai pressed his right palm over his left fist to greet the martial arts experts respectfully. He had decided to be polite to the older martial arts experts when a man in a green suit jumped out to attack Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai acted automatically in defense and used his arm to block the man’s blows. Kiu Wai did not bother to attack but had only deflected the man’s relentless blows until he got impatient and sealed the man’s pressure points with an intricate stance. The rest of the men gathered were in awe of Kiu Wai’s expertise. Kiu Wai looked at the immobile man and asked, “Maybe you will let me know the reason for your attacks on me since I do not even know you.”

“Little Punk, I am Wu Hsing from the Double Crane Clan. Your Sifus killed my mother and injured my father. I have waited for many years to get my revenge. Unfortunately I am unable to defeat you today but one day someone will take care of you,” the immobile man told Kiu Wai.

“Ah, Hero Wu, you forgot to tell the rest of the martial arts experts who are present today that your father had a affair with Lady Silver Moon who was an expert in poison. She poisoned your mother and tried to blame it on my grandmother. Luckily your mother was able to tell my grandparents the truth before she died. My grandmother killed Lady Silver Moon and severely injured your father but my grandfather saved his life. Since your father was an adulterer and had indirectly caused the death of your mother, he should have killed his mistress instead of allowing her to place the blame on my grandmother. It would have saved you the embarrassment if you had your facts straight before you attacked me. I will be merciful and will allow you to live so that you can improve your martial arts skills and seek your revenge,” Kiu Wai told Wu Hsing and unsealed his pressure points.

Wu Hsing looked at Kiu Wai in fury for exposing his father’s indiscretion. He didn’t think that Kiu Wai would know about the sins of his father. Kiu Wai used to follow his grandfather around picking herbs and his grandfather would relate tales of events that happened in the Mo Lam and animosity between the clans, including animosity between the Northern Heretical Duo with the rest of the Mo Lam thus Kiu Wai knew a lot about the intrigues and history of various events in the Mo Lam. Wu Hsing had wanted to show off that he could defeat the student of The Northern Heretical Duo, not anticipating the power of Kiu Wai’s martial arts skills or his knowledge of the intrigues in the Mo Lam. Wu Hsing turned on his heels and stormed out of the great hall.

Just then Chin Yiu Kei came into the hall and he called for order. Chin Yiu Kei sized Kiu Wai up, noting the handsome noble features and confidence expressed in Kiu Wai’s martial arts stances. “So this is the punk that Li Xiang was interested in,” thought Chin Yiu Kei. He decided to stay calm and looked for an opportunity to kill Kiu Wai, maybe using the combined power of the martial arts experts gathered in the hall, “We are gathered here today to discuss about capturing a spy from Mongolia and we should be united in our efforts. Personal animosities should be set aside for the well-being of the folks in the Central Plains.”

Kiu Wai looked at Chin Yiu Kei thoughtfully; he kept silent though he noted the shifty dishonest expression on Chin’s face. Chin Yiu Kei gave Kiu Wai an insincere smile, “Young Hero Xia, welcome to my humble home. I am glad that you have decided to join us to plan for the capture of the Mongolian spy.”

“I am happy to attend this meeting too, especially if it was indeed for the capture of a Mongolian spy who came to the Central Plains to cause trouble for the common folks,” Kiu Wai replied with calmness.

“Young Hero Xia, what are you trying to imply?” Chin Yiu Kei asked angrily.

“Do you have proof that this person is a spy from Mongolia?” Kiu Wai asked Chin Yiu Kei directly.

“I do not have absolute proof that this person is a spy. But why would this person come to the Central Plains so secretively?” Chin Yiu Kei asked.

“Do you know who this person is? I am well acquainted with the young girl. She is Princess Siong Siong of Mongolia. We grew up together and she came to the Central Plains to look for me. We had a fight and I left without saying goodbye to her,” Kiu Wai explained, “Furthermore I know that there is a plan to abduct Princess Siong Siong and then hand her over to Minister Lu Pang who would kill her while she is in King Chu Xin Lung’s custody. Minister Lu wanted to use this opportunity to create a deeper animosity between Mongolia and the Central Plains so that both countries would go to war. Minister Lu would use the chaos that ensued to topple King Chu Xin Lung,” Kiu Wai told the assembled martial arts experts.

“These are serious accusations, Young Hero Xia. Do you have any proof?” Yan Lik Fu asked Kiu Wai with a frown.

“I was there when Minister Lu spoke with Chin Yiu Kei and then with his subordinate. You will have to take my word for it. Whatever the martial arts experts in the Mo Lam decided to do, I am going to give you fair warning. Princess Siong Siong had been like a sister to me. If you hurt a hair on her head, I will come after all those involved with vengeance!” Kiu Wai threatened.

“Are you going to go against the whole Mo Lam?” Yan Lik Fu asked Kiu Wai.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 41

“Yes, I am prepared to. I came to the Central Plains for personal reasons, not to create trouble but I will not run away from trouble either. It would be in your best interest to investigate more into Chin Yiu Kei’s and Minister Lu’s intentions before you hurt an innocent girl,” Kiu Wai told the assembled martial arts experts.

The martial arts experts were upset with Kiu Wai’s arrogance that he would take all of them on to protect a Mongolian princess, maybe Kiu Wai was the spy instead! However they were all a little wary about Kiu Wai’s martial arts skills since he was a student of the Northern Heretical Duo. Everyone knew of the power of the Northern Heretical Duo’s martial arts skills, they were invincible and ruthless. Not many people had survived after fighting with The Northern Heretical Duo and even then their survival was due to Liang Yik’s healing powers and compassion for the injured.

Just then a couple of men from the Green Snake Clan brought a young girl into the great hall. She was crying and struggling against the men. Kiu Wai could see the palm marks on her cheeks where she had been slapped; it was Princess Siong Siong. Kiu Wai was furious to see that Princess Siong Siong had been mistreated. Though Kiu Wai did not love Princess Siong Siong as a man loves a woman, he was protective of her as they grew up almost together. He walked into the path of the two men and ordered, “Let the young girl go.”

The two men were not going to comply but Princess Siong Siong managed to remove herself from their clutches and ran into Kiu Wai’s arms crying, “Kiu Wai, I am so glad to have found you. These thugs had been mean to me.”

Kiu Wai pushed Princess Siong Siong slightly away from him to look at her, “Princess Siong Siong, how are you and were you injured by these two men?”

Princess Siong Siong turned to look at the two men who had held her and pointed at one of them, “I am alright but that man had slapped me hard when I tried to get away. I am going to tell my father that the people in the Central Plains were rude and mean. Kiu Wai, why didn’t you even say goodbye before you left? You promised me that you would come to see me. When you didn’t come to see me, I went to your house and found it deserted. I was worried about you so I came to the Central Plains to look for you.”

“Princess Siong Siong, I am sorry that I did not say goodbye before I left but you shouldn’t have come to the Central Plains on your own. Yes, I can agree with you in that, some of these martial arts experts in the Central Plains were fools and had no manners. Don’t worry, I will escort you home to the Great Khan. Let’s go,” Kiu Wai took Princess Siong Siong by her arm to lead her away.

However the two men who brought Princess Siong Siong into the great hall stepped in their way to block them from walking out the hall. The rest of the martial arts experts raised their objections to Kiu Wai’s insults. Chin Yiu Kei took advantage of the uproar and urged them to stop Kiu Wai and Princess Siong Siong from leaving.

“I have told you that Princess Siong Siong is not a spy. She came to the Central Plains look for me and now that she has found me, I will escort her home. I would like for you to move out of our way otherwise I will not give you any considerations,” Kiu Wai calmly told those who stood in his way.

The man who had slapped Princess Siong Siong was foolish enough to attack Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai was already upset with him for mistreating Princess Siong Siong so he used his palm to push against that man. The man was thrown right across the room severely injured even though Kiu Wai had used only thirty percent of his strength. The rest of the martial arts experts surrounded Kiu Wai and a ferocious fight ensued. They could not even touch Kiu Wai but were injured by Kiu Wai instead. The Northern Heretical Duo had trained Kiu Wai well; Kiu Wai’s martial arts skills were incomparable. In addition to that Kiu Wai had his grandparents’ combined internal energies, which made him twice as powerful and dangerous.

One of the men had grabbed a hold of Princess Siong Siong to use her as hostage. When Kiu Wai saw that Princess Siong Siong was in danger he aimed his strength at the man’s arm. The man’s arm was hit; all the bones were shattered and the boneless arm hung uselessly onto his torso by his skin. The injured man dropped to the ground writhing and screaming in agony for someone to cut his arm off.

Kiu Wai jumped over to take Princess Siong Siong with him. When Kiu Wai looked down at the man who was writhing in pain, he was shocked at the power of his internal energies but outwardly he was calm and did not reveal his feelings. He could fully understand his grandparents’ contempt of the martial arts experts in the Mo Lam who had attacked him without investigating into the matter. His grandparents were correct; these martial arts experts were unreasonable and foolish. Kiu Wai looked around him challengingly at the martial arts experts. No one had dared to come near Kiu Wai so he turned on his heels and take Princess Siong Siong with him. At the door, Kiu Wai turned around, “Cut off his arm, it cannot be healed.”

After Kiu Wai left the hall with Princess Siong Siong one of the leaders of the righteous clans knelt down to examine the injured man and the damage to the man’s arm. Every bone had been totally shattered into tiny fragments. The leader was shocked by the power of Kiu Wai’s internal energy because it was even more powerful than that of his grandparents. By the lack of emotions from Kiu Wai, he was shown to be just as cold blooded and eccentric as his grandparents. Everyone prayed and hoped that Kiu Wai would stay in Mongolia after escorting Princess Siong Siong home.

Chapter 42

Kiu Wai and Princess Siong Siong hurried down the hill where the headquarters of the Green Snake Clan was located. Halfway down the hill, Kiu Wai saw an army of soldiers running up the hill. That had to be the army that King Chu Xin Lung was sending to destroy the Green Snake Clan. Kiu Wai told Princess Siong Siong to hide among the bushes away from the path the army was heading. He turned and rushed back to the great hall of the Green Snake Clan.

The assembled martial arts experts were surprised to see Kiu Wai back. Kiu Wai told them that an army was coming up the hills to destroy the Green Snake Clan along with everyone else on the premises. The martial arts experts grumbled and refused to believe Kiu Wai; in fact they accused Kiu Wai of collaborating with the army to harm them. Kiu Wai calmly told them that the army was out to get Chin Yiu Kei and not them. But while the leaders of the different clans were gathered at the Green Snake Clan, they would be considered as members of the Green Snake Clan. Kiu Wai told them that he had risked his own life to come back to warn them and they should heed his warning. With that he turned and ran back out of the building.

Yan Lik Fu followed Kiu Wai down the hill and found Princess Siong Siong where Kiu Wai had left her. They rushed down the hill away from the soldiers when suddenly Han Yao Tien blocked their path. Kiu Wai looked at Han Yao Tien with query in his eyes though he remained silent. Han Yao Tien looked at the three of them, then he signaled Kiu Wai to step aside with him, “Young Hero Xia, I was ordered by His Majesty, King Chu Xin Lung to destroy The Green Snake Clan and arrest all the members. Who are the two people with you?”

“The girl is Princess Siong Siong, daughter of the Great Khan from Mongolia and the man is Yan Lik Fu from the White Tiger Clan. I hope you will reconsider and let them leave this place. Have you found Princess Mei Ling yet?” Kiu Wai asked with concern.

Han Yao Tien shook his head and replied, “No, we had not been able to find Princess Mei Ling, that was the reason King Chu was so angry. If Princess Mei Ling were not found soon, there would be chaos because King Chu had every one of his ministers and soldiers swore their loyalty to Princess Mei Ling and to protect Her Royal Highness at all costs. The longer Princess Mei Ling is missing, the more hardship would there be for everyone. You said that Princess Mei Ling had been abducted because of her involvement with you, you should try to find that girl Yuen Li Xiang.”

Princess Siong Siong who had come up to them overheard their conversation. She told them that when she was caught she had been brought briefly to a hut a few miles from the headquarters of The Green Snake Clan. She saw a young pretty girl held there. The young girl was tied up. Another young girl came into the building just as Princess Siong Siong was being taken away and she heard the newcomer screaming at the one who was tied up. Princess Siong Siong caught the name of the young girl who was tied up; it was Chu Mei Ling.

When Kiu Wai heard the news, his heart sunk with fear. He knew Yuen Li Xiang was jealous of Mei Ling and she would take her anger out on Mei Ling. He balled his fists in fury and turned to Han Yao Tien, “I am going to rescue Princess Mei Ling, please escort Princess Siong Siong to the palace and take care of her.”

Princess Siong Siong objected vehemently, “No I am not going to the palace, I am coming with you. I can show you the way and help to rescue that girl.”

Kiu Wai had already turned on his heels and using his lightness martial arts skills ran down the hill. Princess Siong Siong ran after Kiu Wai. Han Yao Tin had no choice but to follow them. Since it was of utmost urgency and importance to rescue Princess Mei Ling and she was not to be found at the Green Snake Clan. His men could destroy The Green Snake Clan headquarters but he had to help Kiu Wai in the rescue.

Kiu Wai saw the hut that Princess Siong Siong indicated where Mei Ling was held. He crouched near some bushes to scout the area. He saw half a dozen men guarding the hut; otherwise it was quiet. Princess Siong Siong arrived with Han Yao Tien at her heels.

“These were the same men guarding Princess Mei Ling when I left, hopefully there weren’t more men sent to guard her. We should play it safe and not force our way in to free Princess Mei Ling, just in case there were other men in the hut besides Yuen Li Xiang with so we need a diversion. I am going to run towards the hut, Hero Han; you can chase me, with me screaming for help. Whoever is in the hut will come out to investigate and Kiu Wai, you could go nearer to the hut to rescue Princess Mei Ling,” Princess Siong Siong suggested.

“That is a great idea, I am going to neutralize the six guards now,” with that Kiu Wai aimed a handful of pebbles at the pressure points of the guards. Four of the guards were hit and they fell over like logs with their pressure points sealed. Before the other two guards could react or make a sound, Kiu Wai had jumped on them and sealed their pressure points. Kiu Wai ran stealthily towards the hut and crouched against the wall.

“Help, somebody help me!” screamed Princess Siong Siong as she ran towards the hut with Han Yao Tien chasing her.

Chapter 43

Flashback

When Kiu Wai left Li Xiang in the inn after she had failed to seduce him, Li Xiang was furious and vowed to avenge the insult Kiu Wai had dealt her. Li Xiang had blamed Mei Ling for Kiu Wai leaving her. Instead of looking at the situation rationally that Kiu Wai had never promised her anything nor had he taken advantage of her but had taken care of her out of compassion; Li Xiang had claimed Kiu Wai for her own.

Li Xiang had loved Kiu Wai with an obsession from the first moment she set her eyes on Kiu Wai. She had pursued Kiu Wai relentlessly, lying through her teeth so that she could stay with him. Everything had progressed as planned, Kiu Wai had treated her very well and she had hoped that he would soon fall in love with her. Then they were separated and when Kiu Wai returned to see her, he had brought along that beautiful young girl Chu Mei Ling with him. As soon as Li Xiang saw Mei Ling she knew that her relationship with Kiu Wai was in jeopardy. Kiu Wai did not want to have anything to do with her and had abandoned her after Mei Ling left him. Li Xiang hated Mei Ling more than ever and vowed to have Mei Ling killed.

Li Xiang had stayed on in the city, she had that money, which Kiu Wai had left with her to tide her over. One day she met Chin Yiu Kei who was the leader of The Green Snake Clan. Li Xiang decided to use Chin Yiu Kei to take revenge for her. She seduced Chin Yiu Kei who was besotted with her with promises of sexual favors if he would get rid of Mei Ling for her. To get rid of Mei Ling, Yuen Li Xiang was willing to sell her soul to the devil.

One day Chin Yiu Kei came to Li Xiang to tell her that he had found Mei Ling together with Kiu Wai. Li Xiang sensed that Chin Yiu Kei was jealous of Kiu Wai and in order to allay his suspicions and jealousy, she started kissing Chin Yiu Kei to prove her affection for Chin Yiu Kei. Things got out of hand and she slept with Chin Yiu Kei. After the deed Li Xiang was angry with Chin Yiu Kei for pressuring her to sleep with him and had accused him of raping her. Chin Yiu Kei became furious and hit her.

After Chin Yiu Kei left, Li Xiang ran off to find Kiu Wai. Li Xiang accused Mei Ling of ordering the man to attack her. When Kiu Wai would not believe her, Li Xiang had ran off, she knew that Kiu Wai would follow her to pacify her. Mei Ling had been left alone and unprotected, and was abducted by Chin Yiu Kei’s men.

When Kiu Wai and Yuen Li Xiang returned to the abandoned building and found Mei Ling missing, Kiu Wai was frantic with worry about Mei Ling. He was determined to find her and ignored Li Xiang’s pleas for him not to leave her. When Kiu Wai came back after fighting with the Taoist priests, he could only think about Mei Ling and to save her so he hurried Li Xiang onto the nearest town. Kiu Wai left Li Xiang at the inn and went out to look for Mei Ling despite of Li Xiang’s efforts to delay the rescue for as long as possible.

Li Xiang had paced the room impatiently; she was consumed by jealousy and hated the concern and love shown by Kiu Wai for Mei Ling. Not long after Kiu Wai left the inn to look for Mei Ling, Chin Yiu Kei had sent word to Li Xiang that he had Mei Ling in his possession. Li Xiang followed Chin Yiu Kei’s men to the hut where they had kept Mei Ling. Princess Siong Siong had seen Li Xiang screaming at Mei Ling when she was brought to the hut for temporarily before being transferred to the headquarters of The Green Snake Clan where Kiu Wai had gathered with all the martial arts experts.

Mei Ling was sitting on the floor with her wrists tied. Six of Chin Yiu Kei’s men were guarding her. Li Xiang was ecstatic to see her rival tied up and defenseless. Mei Ling was half unconscious when Li Xiang kicked her viciously and taunted her spitefully, “How the mighty had fallen, where is your knight in shining armor? How come he is not here to protect his precious love?”

Mei Ling saw the crazy glint in Li Xiang’s eyes and prudently kept silent. However Mei Ling’s silence infuriated Li Xiang and she slapped Mei Ling viciously. Li Xiang then sent the six men to stand guard outside and proceeded to hit Mei Ling a couple more times. Li Xiang screamed at Mei Ling, blaming her for Kiu Wai’s change of affection. She told Mei Ling that Kiu Wai and her were lovers and they had planned to get married when Kiu Wai met Mei Ling and reneged on his promise to marry her.

Mei Ling accused Li Xiang of lying because she had caught Li Xiang lying to Chin Yiu Kei about Kiu Wai being her cousin. Mei Ling accused Li Xiang that she had lied to Kiu Wai about Mei Ling being the one to send someone to hurt Li Xiang, “You are nothing but a compulsive liar, no wonder Kiu Wai doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. When Kiu Wai finds out that you have hurt me, he is going to kill you!”

Li Xiang was shaking with rage at Mei Ling’s words. She took a stick and hit Mei Ling on the side of her head, dazing Mei Ling with that blow. Li Xiang then took a pill bottle out of her pocket and took a pill out of it. She stuffed the pill into Mei Ling’s mouth, forcing Mei Ling to swallow it, causing Mei Ling to choke as she swallowed the pill. Li Xiang laughed evilly as the poisonous pill took effect after a few minutes. Mei Ling screamed as the poison caused a terrible reaction in her stomach and she clawed at her abdomen from the excruciating pain.

Suddenly Li Xiang heard a girl’s screams for help outside the hut. She stood up to walk to the door to see what was going on.

Chapter 44

Kiu Wai was waiting at the door and as soon as Li Xiang opened the door, he sealed her pressure points and dashed into the hut to find Mei Ling alone, sitting on the floor. Mei Ling’s wrists were tied up; her face was swollen with bruises. She was whimpering and clutching at her abdomen, digging into her flesh from the pain. Kiu Wai felt a sharp pain in his chest to see Mei Ling hurting and tortured, he broke the ropes and took her protectively in his arms with tears welling up in his eyes, he turned to Li Xiang furiously, “How could you hurt Mei Ling like this, you are truly an evil person!”

Li Xiang was furious to see Kiu Wai holding Mei Ling in his arms, “I hate her; she deserved to die for taking you away from me.”

Han Yao Tien came forward to confront Li Xiang, “What poison did you give to Princess Mei Ling?”

Li Xiang looked at Han Yao Tien with confusion in her eyes, “Miss Mei Ling is a princess?”

“Yes! Princess Mei Ling is the only daughter of King Chu Xin Lung. You have committed treason by hurting and harming the health of Her Royal Highness. You had better tell us the name of the poison you had given her and give us the antidote,” Han Yao Tien told Li Xiang impatiently.

“Princess Mei Ling had been given the One Step To Hell Poison by Chin Yiu Kei. I had nothing to do with her poisoning. All I did was to slap her because I was angry with her for taking Kiu Wai from me,” Li Xiang tried to deny that she was the one who had given Mei Ling the poison and blamed everything on Chin Yiu Kei. Li Xiang was shocked to find out that Mei Ling was a princess and she knew that she was in deep trouble for even daring to lay a hand on Mei Ling.

“The One Step To Hell Poison?” Kiu Wai blanched. He quickly sealed seven of Mei Ling’s pressure points. He got up and carried Mei Ling out of the hut in his arms.

“Where are you taking the princess? We must bring her back to the palace so that we can find a physician to cure her,” Han Yao Tien told Kiu Wai.

“There is no antidote for this poison but there is a slim chance that I might be able to help Mei Ling. I am taking her with me to try to help her. I am not sure if I will be successful but the sooner I start, the better the chance of recovery. Brother Han, I hope you will do me a favor and escort Princess Siong Siong to King Chu. Please be careful because Minister Lu Pang will try to kill Princess Siong Siong to get The Great Khan of Mongolia to invade The Central Plains. Minister Lu Pang wanted to take power for himself. You have to protect Princess Siong Siong in order to thwart Minister Lu’s evil plan to topple King Chu. I promise to return with Mei Ling whether I am successful in healing her or not to accept my punishment from King Chu. It is my fault that Mei Ling was hurt and I will accept all responsibilities,” Kiu Wai told Han Yao Tien.

“What about me? Kiu Wai, you cannot leave me with this man. He is going to bring me to King Chu and I would be executed for a crime I didn’t commit!” Li Xiang cried.

Kiu Wai turned to Li Xiang furiously, “You deserve to die. You are an evil, spiteful and cruel person. You gave Mei Ling that poison so that she would suffer as much pain as possible before she dies. I hope Brother Han will tell King Chu what you had done to Mei Ling and I hope that he will set a punishment for you to make you suffer as much as Mei Ling had,” with that Kiu Wai put Mei Ling on a horse that was tethered to the side of the hut and rode swiftly away with her.

Han Yao Tien tied Yuen Li Xiang up and together with Princess Siong Siong, they went towards the Capital. On the way Han Yao Tien met with his commanders and the prisoners they had taken. The Green Snake Clan had been wiped out; most of the members were killed. Many of the leaders of both the righteous and evil clans managed to escape. Chin Yiu Kei was captured alive. Han Yao Tien then escorted the prisoners towards the Capital. Once in the Capital, Han Yao Tien put Yuen Li Xiang and Chin Yiu Kei into a heavily guarded prison.

Han Yao Tien then escorted Princess Siong Siong to the palace. Han Yao Tien reported to King Chu the events that had taken place and that Kiu Wai was trying to heal Princess Mei Ling. Han Yao Tien also told King Chu about Minister Lu Pang’s plans of treason. Under interrogation, Minister Lu had told King Chu that Lady Rose’s family was in on the plan of toppling King Chu. They were angry that King Chu had insulted their family by disrespecting Lady Rose and putting her under house arrest. Lady Rose was the one who had wanted Princess Mei Ling dead and she was the one who had supplied the One Step To Hell Poison to kill Princess Mei Ling.

King Chu Xin Lung was furious that Lady Rose had plotted to kill Princess Mei Ling because she was jealous of his relationship with his royal daughter. King Chu ordered Lady Rose’s family to be stripped of their power and arrested. They had resisted arrest and many were killed, the rest of the family members were escorted back to the capital. Minister Lu Pang and his family were also arrested. After a lengthy trial, Lady Rose and her family, Minister Lu Pang and his family were found guilty of treason and executed. Chin Yiu Kei and Yuen Li Xiang were found guilty of hurting Princess Mei Ling and were executed; their corpses were not given a burial but left in the wilderness for the animals to feed on them. The rest of the martial arts experts were released because they did not participate and were unaware of Minister Lu’s plot to topple King Chu.

Princess Siong Siong had stayed on in the palace of King Chu Xin Lung after the prisoners were transported to the Capital. Han Yao Tien had kept his promise to Kiu Wai and took great care of Princess Siong Siong and protected her from harm.

King Chu was very worried about his royal daughter Princess Mei Ling. Han Yao Tien had told him that Kiu Wai had taken Mei Ling with him to try to find a cure for her and that Kiu Wai would bring her back alive or dead to receive his punishment. One day King Chu ordered Han Yao Tien to go on a mission for him.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 45

King Chu had found Han Yao Tien fifteen years ago while on a hunting trip. Han Yao Tien’s family had perished in a house fire when he was six and the young Han Yao Tien had been trying to survive on his own for a year. One day the young Han Yao Tien had been severely beaten when he was caught trying to steal some food and had collapsed along the pathway just outside the city gate where King Chu found him. King Chu felt pity for the boy who was barely alive from the severe beating and took him home with him. Han Yao Tien was nursed back to health and did odd jobs around the palace. King Chu took a liking to the good-looking boy and had him taught to read and write in addition to martial arts instructions. King Chu trusted Han Yao Tien and when Han Yao Tien grew up and proved to be a loyal and skillful martial arts expert; he had been sent on many covert missions for his king.

King Chu summoned Han Yao Tien to the Palace and handed a sealed letter to Han Yao Tien. He told Han Yao Tien to go to the country of Xia and deliver the letter personally to King Xia Wen Lun. Han Yao Tien went to Princess Siong Siong to say goodbye to her. They had become close when Han Yao Tien escorted and took care of Princess Siong Siong during the journey to the palace and while she stayed as a guest at the palace.

King Chu had sent a message to The Great Khan of Mongolia that Princess Siong Siong had been found and was staying at the palace as his guest. King Chu had also written to The Great Khan that Princess Siong Siong had begged to stay on till Kiu Wai returned with Princess Mei Ling. The Great Khan had spoiled Princess Siong Siong just as much as King Chu had spoiled Princess Mei Ling so he had agreed to let Princess Siong Siong stay a little longer with King Chu.

When Princess Siong Siong heard that Han Yao Tien was leaving to go to the country of Xia, she insisted on going with Han Yao Tien. Han Yao Tien firmly refused to take her with him because he was on an official assignment for King Chu. Princess Siong Siong had stomped her feet, pouted and lastly sobbed in fury but Han Yao Tien had remained adamant about going alone.

Han Yao Tien was used to spoiled princess’ temper tantrums, as he had to deal with Princess Mei Ling from childhood so he knew how to handle Princess Siong Siong’s temper tantrums. Han Yao Tien left the palace the following day for the country of Xia. Unbeknownst to Han Yao Tien, Princess Siong Siong had sneaked out of the palace ahead of him and had hidden herself in the forest where she knew that Han Yao Tien would pass by on his way to the country of Xia.

Princess Siong Siong had her ear to the ground and when she heard the sounds of a horse galloping towards her, she pretended to be hurt and slumped over in the bushes by the path. Han Yao Tien saw Princess Siong Siong lying in the bushes from afar and his heart was pounding with fear. As soon as he reached Princess Siong Siong, Han Yao Tien jumped off his horse and rushed over to her. He knelt down and felt her pulse and found it weak and thready. When he could not wake her up, he took her in his arms and cried, praying that she would make it. Suddenly he felt her body shaking and looked down to see her shaking with laughter. Han Yao Tien was furious that he had been taken in for a fool; he released her from his arms and got up to leave.

“You are such a heartless beast! All you could think of was your duty to your King. You don’t care about me. No body loves me, Kiu Wai doesn’t want me and now you are just as mean,” with that Princess Siong Siong ran off crying into the woods.

Han Yao Tien could not bear to see his beloved upset and hurt so he turned around and chased after her, caught up with her and pulled her into his arms, “What do you want from me? You are a royal princess from Mongolia and I owe my loyalty to King Chu. I am only a poor man with nothing to offer you and I could never have you. Why couldn’t you stay in the palace and wait for your father to take you home? Why do you have to continue to tempt and torture me with your touches and your proximity?”

Princess Siong Siong then grabbed a hold of Han Yao Tien’s face and kissed him passionately. At first Han Yao Tien tried to push her away but he couldn’t fight the attraction he felt for Princess Siong Siong and had kissed her back passionately with savage intensity. Princess Siong Siong welcomed Han Yao Tien’s almost brutal kisses, she responded wholeheartedly and passionately, molding herself to his muscular body.

It was a long time before Han Yao Tien could tear himself away from Princess Siong Siong; he turned his head, breathing heavily, “Princess Siong Siong, I will take you back to the palace.” Han Yao Tien turned on his heels expecting Princess Siong Siong to follow him to his horse and when she didn’t, he turned back to her impatiently.

“I am not going back to the palace. Either you take me with you to the country of Xia or I am going to stay here,” Princess Siong Siong, with her arms crossed stubbornly declared.

“You cannot stay here by yourself, someone with evil intents may come along to harm you. I cannot take you with me; I am on an official assignment. You are already holding me up and delaying my mission so I am warning you, you had better follow me back to the palace or I am not going to give you any consideration!” Han Yao Tien was upset with himself for his loss of control and that Princess Siong Siong was trying to manipulate him.

“I don’t care. I am not going back to the palace and if you forced me, I am going to tell King Chu that you had behaved inappropriately with me. I want to see how you are going to explain to King Chu that you had kissed me when you were supposed to protect me,” Princess Siong Siong taunted Han Yao Tien.

Han Yao Tien reddened slightly and sighed with defeat. “Princess Siong Siong I am sorry that I acted inappropriately with you. There is no excuse for my shameful behavior, please forgive me. If you don’t want to go back to the palace, you will have to stay here by yourself because I am not going to jeopardize my mission by taking you with me. You take care of yourself,” with that Han Yao Tien turned and got onto his horse to continue his way on to the country of Xia.

Chapter 46

Princess Siong Siong could not believe that Han Yao Tien had been so heartless as to leave her alone in the forest. From his response to their kisses, Han Yao Tien was not indifferent to her. Princess Siong Siong was attracted to Han Yao Tien who was very good looking, honest, loyal and honorable. She admired his loyalty to King Chu and wished that he would be just as loyal to her. She decided that she wanted Han Yao Tien so after stomping her feet, pouting and sulking for ten minutes, Princess Siong Siong got onto her horse, which she had hidden in the woods and followed Han Yao Tien.

Han Yao Tien had left Princess Siong Siong with a heavy heart, he was worried about her safety but he had a mission to accomplish and his loyalty was to King Chu first. King Chu had been like a father to him and with the life and health of Princess Mei Ling being uncertain, it was more important for him to obey his master and deliver the letter to King Xia. Han Yao Tien had heard that King Xia and King Chu were sworn brothers though they have not seen each other for years. Perhaps with King Xia’s moral support, King Chu may be able to take the bad news about Princess Mei Ling easier.

Han Yao Tien continued on his way, determined to go on to the country of Xia but he was frowning with worry about Princess Siong Siong. Suddenly he heard the sounds of a horse galloping towards him from behind and turned around to look. To his surprise and delight it was Princess Siong Siong. Han Yao Tien was very happy to have Princess Siong Siong’s company but he was not going to show the little minx his feelings. To let Princess Siong Siong know the truth about his feelings for her was too dangerous a weapon to be placed in that spoilt girl’s hands. So by the time Princess Siong Siong reached him, Han Yao Tien had managed to hide his happiness at seeing her, instead he gave her a polite nod and an indifferent shrug and continued his way.

Princess Siong Siong was a little miffed and vexed at Han Yao Tien’s lack of reaction and welcome but she had caught a glimpse of happiness in his eyes just before he could masked his feelings. “Stubborn man, I am going to get you to admit that you love me,” Princess Siong Siong made the promise to herself. Princess Siong Siong was used to riding horses in Mongolia and was an excellent rider so she soon caught up with Han Yao Tien and rode beside him the rest of the journey.

Han Yao Tien and Princess Siong Siong were resting in the forest when Princess Siong Siong made a derogative remark about Princess Mei Ling, which upset Han Yao Tien. “Take that remark back! If you are going to talk bad about Princess Mei Ling, then I am going to have to fight with you,” Han Yao Tien told Princess Siong Siong.

“Don’t tell me that you are in love with that spoilt girl too,” Princess Siong Siong asked Han Yao Tien jealously.

“No I am not in love with Princess Mei Ling though I love her as a loyal subject of King Chu. I had sworn my undying loyalty to His Majesty and Her Royal Highness and I keep my word of honor. I will give my life to defend Her Royal Highness so don’t think I am joking,” Han Yao Tien warned Princess Siong Siong.

Princess Siong Siong decided to be prudent and took back her mean spirited remark about Princess Mei Ling and apologized to Han Yao Tien. Princess Siong Siong had learned that King Chu was the most important person in Han Yao Tien’s life and Han Yao Tien had sworn to protect Princess Mei Ling with his life when he swore his loyalty to King Chu. Princess Siong Siong envied Princess Mei Ling that Mei Ling had both Kiu Wai and Han Yao Tien’s loyalty and love. Princess Siong Siong wished that she could have at least Han Yao Tien’s loyalty and love. She tried hard to be less demanding and to please Han Yao Tien because she was falling deeply in love with him.

Han Yao Tien had treated Princess Siong Siong indulgently and did almost everything to see to her comfort and to please her. There was however one subject that he would not make any compromise on and that was his master and young mistress King Chu Xin Lung and Princess Chu Mei Ling were to be treated with absolute respect. Han Yao Tien had refused to let Princess Siong Siong get away with even the slightest hint of disrespect and she could not sway his total loyalty to King Chu and Princess Mei Ling. However they could fight about anything else and he would apologize just to pacify her.

Han Yao Tien and Princess Siong Siong arrived at the palace of King Xia after three days. They were shown into the great hall of the palace and were waiting for King Xia to arrive. When King Xia’s arrival was announced, they both knelt down and bowed with respect to King Xia. Han Yao Tien looked up at King Xia to let him know about the letter from King Chu and was shocked to see an older replica of Kiu Wai sitting on the throne. He finally understood the importance of his mission; it was not about Princess Mei Ling but about Kiu Wai. Han Yao Tien was speechless for a minute and Princess Siong Siong looked up to see what Han Yao Tien was gaping about, she too saw the resemblance of Kiu Wai to King Xia. They both looked at King Xia speechless with astonishment.

King Xia looked at the young couple curiously and asked them patiently about their business in the country of Xia. Han Yao Tien reddened slightly for his slip and handed over the letter from King Chu with both hands. After King Xia read the letter, the expression on his face was inscrutable. He invited Han Yao Tien and Princess Siong Siong to stay for a few days in the palace. Han Yao Tien however had declined the invitation with respect and told King Xia that he had to hurry home to King Chu. King Xia then wrote a letter in reply and asked Han Yao Tien to deliver it to King Chu.

Han Yao Tien left the country of Xia with Princess Siong Siong the next day. King Xia deliberated for a day and told his ministers that he had to take a short trip. King Xia Wen Lun never told them where he was heading but he did tell his wife Queen Sin Mei that he was going to visit King Chu Xin Lung. Queen Sin Mei was worried about her husband’s safety since he was going by himself. She had wanted to go with him but King Wen Lun assured her that he would send for her and that it was important that he sees his sworn brother alone. King Wen Lun set off for the Central Plains in the middle of the night and arrived at the palace of King Xin Lung after three days of hard riding.

Chapter 47

King Chu Xin Lung welcomed King Xia Wen Lun with open arms. It has almost been two decades since the two sworn brothers had last seen each other. After exchanging some small talk, King Wen Lun asked King Xin Lung directly if it was true that King Xin Lung had found his son. King Xin Lung said that he was quite sure that it was King Wen Lun’s long lost son because the young man Xia Kiu Wai had looked almost identical to King Wen Lun when King Wen Lun was his age. Xia Kiu Wai had also mentioned about coming to the Central Plains to look for his parents.

“Where is this young man Xia Kiu Wai?” King Wen Lung asked eagerly. He prayed that King Xin Lung was correct and the young man was indeed his long lost son. It would be a dream come true.

“Kiu Wai is with my daughter Princess Mei Ling. Princess Mei Ling had been poisoned with the One Step To Hell Poison. Kiu Wai had taken Princess Mei Ling with him and promised that he would try to cure her,” King Xin Lung told his sworn brother.

“The One Step To Hell Poison? How did Princess Mei Ling get poisoned? There is no antidote for this notorious poison, the only result is death,” King Wen Lun blanched as he digested the shocking information. He continued, “Maybe this young man was lying to save his skin and escape your wrath. He delayed your hunting for him by taking Princess Mei Ling with him and promising to cure her.”

“I don’t think Kiu Wai was lying. He seemed a decent young man who was in love with Princess Mei Ling. He was serious about finding a cure for Princess Mei Ling. Kiu Wai’s Sifus were his adoptive grandparents The Northern Heretical Duo. You know that his adoptive grandmother Chiu Suen Yi was an expert in poison; she had terrorized the Mo Lam decades ago by injuring and killing those who had offended her with her incomparable lethal poisonous internal energy. She could have taught Kiu Wai or given him her lethal internal energy and knowledge.

Kiu Wai’s adoptive grandfather Liang Yik was an expert in herbal medicine and was nicknamed Doctor with the Miracle Healing Hands because of his incomparable healing abilities. He had saved many martial arts experts who had been poisoned by his wife and had cured many others who were seriously ill injured or poisoned. Han Yao Tien reported that Kiu Wai had saved Princess Mei Ling before with his knowledge on healing with herbs. Han Yao Tien had also seen the effects of Kiu Wai’s internal energy and reported that Lady Peony had failed to kill or even harm Kiu Wai with her Mountain Shattering Palm stance. Kiu Wai was able to shatter all the bones of a man’s arm into tiny fragments so the level of his internal energy must be incredibly higher than anyone else in the Mo Lam. It appeared that Kiu Wai had inherited most of his adoptive grandparents’ martial arts skills and Liang Yik’s knowledge on healing with herbs,” King Xin Lung told his sworn brother.

Just then Princess Mei Ling came running into the room. She looked as pretty and healthy as ever with no signs of ever been poisoned. King Xin Lung was very happy to see his beloved daughter, hugging her tight with tears of relief running down his face. He looked around for Kiu Wai, “Where is Kiu Wai. I must thank him for healing you.”

“Kiu Wai did not come with me. He told me that he had to do something important and he would be here shortly to apologize to you,” Mei Ling told her royal father.

King Wen Lun asked, “Princess Mei Ling, what did this young man Kiu Wai do to heal you?”

King Xin Lung introduced King Wen Lun to Princess Mei Ling as his sworn brother. Mei Ling looked at King Wen Lun curiously. King Wen Lun looked very familiar; it suddenly dawned on her that King Wen Lun looked like an older replica of Kiu Wai. Mei Ling bowed politely to King Wen Lun, “I don’t know what Kiu Wai had done to heal me. I was very sick, I was in and out of consciousness most of the time. Kiu Wai must have transferred his internal energy to me because I felt much better. I still have a little abdominal pain but otherwise I am fine.”

King Wen Lun looked over at his sworn brother. King Xin Lung understood the implication immediately. King Xin Lung summoned Princess Siong Siong to the room and ordered, “Princess Siong Siong, please take Princess Mei Ling to her room and examine her for any open wounds.”

Princess Siong Siong was curious about the request but she accompanied Mei Ling to her room and asked Mei Ling to undress to examine her thoroughly. Princess Siong Siong found a small freshly healed wound at the base of Mei Ling’s head, which had been hidden by her hair. Mei Ling got dressed and the two girls went back to see King Xin Lung and King Wen Lun.

King Xin Lung and King Wen Lun both blanched when they heard about the freshly healed wound on Mei Ling, “Where is Kiu Wai now?” King Wen Lun asked Mei Ling urgently.

“Kiu Wai is in the cave thirty miles from here. We had stayed there the entire time during the healing process,” Mei Ling answered, bewildered at the worried look on King Wen Lun’s face. Her royal father looked just as concerned.

“You must bring us there immediately. We have to help Kiu Wai. He is dying,” King Wen Lun told Mei Ling.

“No, you are wrong. Kiu Wai is not dying he was fine when I left him. He told me to come home first so that my royal father would not worry about me. He said that he would follow me soon. He wouldn’t lie to me,” Mei Ling insisted.

“There is no antidote for the One Step To Hell Poison. The only possible way that Kiu Wai could have healed you was that he had somehow managed to transfer the poison from your body to his. He had sacrificed himself so that you could be saved,” King Wen Lun gave Mei Ling the shocking information.

Chapter 48

“Oh, no. Kiu Wai!” Mei Ling was devastated at the terrible thought of Kiu Wai dying. She did not want to believe King Xia’s words that Kiu Wai had deceived her but why would King Xia make up stories about the life-threatening situation of a total stranger? Mei Ling looked to her father and saw the similar worried look on his face; she turned on her heels to rush out of the palace, with King Chu and King Xia at her heels. They rode swiftly towards the cave where Mei Ling had left Kiu Wai.

Mei Ling ran into the cave and found Kiu Wai sitting on the ground leaning against the wall of the cave, barely conscious. Kiu Wai was deadly pale; his skin was cold and clammy with cold sweat running down his face, “Kiu Wai, are you alright? Please wake up!” Mei Ling threw herself onto Kiu Wai, hugging him tightly. King Chu and King Xia stood at the entrance of the cave to give the young couple a little privacy.

Kiu Wai opened his eyes slowly and smiled faintly, he lifted his hand weakly and caressed Mei Ling’s face gently, “You should not have come back.”

“Kiu Wai, is it true that you are dying and that you had lied to me about being well?” Mei Ling hugged Kiu Wai tightly, afraid that she would lose him, hoping that her father and King Xia were wrong and that Kiu Wai was doing fine.

“Yes, I did lie to you and I want to apologize for that. I know that I had promised to be always honest with you, will you forgive me?” Kiu Wai asked with a weak rueful smile.

“Oh Kiu Wai, you cannot be dying! This has to be a mistake, someone must have an antidote for this poison!” Mei Ling refused to accept the fact that Kiu Wai was dying, yet knowing that Kiu Wai was telling her the truth, “Why did you do it? Why did you sacrifice your life for me?”

“There is no antidote for this poison. I have to save you; I love you with all my heart. I could not stand by to see you suffering and dying without doing something to help you. I want you to live, experience all life has to offer and be happy. I do not regret my decision at all, I would do it all over again for you,” Kiu Wai told Mei Ling.

“Kiu Wai, I love you so much. You have such a bright future and could have accomplished so much with your martial arts and healing skills. You shouldn’t have made the sacrifice; I am not worth it. What am I going to do without you?” Mei Ling was trembling with grief, her tears blinding her and she felt as if she could not breathe.

“Mei Ling, you are worth everything and more. I do not have much time left and I cannot bear to say goodbye to you; that was the reason I sent you home to your father. Please don’t cry. It breaks my heart to see your sorrow and tears; I don’t want to see you cry for me. I want to remember you as cheerful, full of laughter, spirited and mischievous, just the way you had always been when I fell in love with you,” Kiu Wai told Mei Ling with sadness for their inevitable separation.

Kiu Wai had used his high internal energy and suctioned the poison from Mei Ling’s body system into his own so that her life could be saved. Kiu Wai had felt very weak after the process, he was in a lot of pain because of the reaction of the poison and he knew that he was dying. He had sent Mei Ling home so that he could die alone because he knew that Mei Ling would be devastated by his death and he wanted to spare her the sight of his suffering at the inevitable end. He wanted her to be home safe with her father. Kiu Wai had hoped that with King Chu’s love and support, Mei Ling would be able to take his death easier. He would rather die a lonesome death than to cause Mei Ling any unhappiness. Kiu Wai had placed Mei Ling’s life and happiness above his own because of his unconditional love for her.

“No Kiu Wai, you cannot leave me. I love you so much and I need you. You have promised to love me and protect me forever and always. You have to keep your promise to me. I cannot ever be happy or go on living without you by my side. I need you, please stay with me,” Mei Ling begged Kiu Wai desperately, her tears of sorrow blinding her.

“Mei Ling, I love you too with all my heart. I know that I had promised to love you and protect you forever and always but I am sorry that I have to break my promise to you. I will love you forever. I don’t want to leave you and I wished that I could stay with you but I have no choice. Physically I may be gone soon but spiritually I will always be with you. I will look out for you and watch over you from heaven, so you will not be alone. You have to be strong and live your life to the fullest, live the life for both of us. Please don’t grieve for me. I want you to be happy and you will find happiness again one day. I love you so much, I…” Kiu Wai was unable to continue as he lapsed into unconsciousness.

Mei Ling was devastated that Kiu Wai had just confirmed King Xia’s prediction that there was no antidote for the One Step To Hell Poison and that Kiu Wai was going to die. She was shocked that Kiu Wai had sacrificed himself for her. She turned to her royal father imploringly, with tears streaming down her cheeks, “Father, please help Kiu Wai.”

[sowfoong]

Chapter 49

“Father, please help Kiu Wai. I don’t want him to die. I love him with all my heart. Please help him,” Mei Ling turned to her father in tears, begging him to save Kiu Wai. King Chu looked at his royal daughter helplessly.

When King Xia first saw Kiu Wai he was amazed by Kiu Wai’s resemblance to him; the young man had looked exactly like him when he was Kiu Wai’s age. He was quite sure that Kiu Wai was his long lost son. King Xia felt his heart dying with pain that just as he has found his son, only to lose him almost immediately. They hadn’t even acknowledged each other as father and son.

King Xia went over to Kiu Wai and gently moved Mei Ling to the side. He sat down and tried to pass his internal energy to Kiu Wai but even in Kiu Wai’s weakened state, the energy barrier was too high. King Chu saw that his sworn brother was having difficulty so he joined him to pass their combined internal energy to Kiu Wai. They were both surprised that Kiu Wai had possessed such a high level of internal energy that even in his weakened state, it took both of their extreme efforts just to overcome that energy barrier but they managed to pass some of their internal energy to Kiu Wai and he awakened slowly.

“Listen young man, your grandmother was an expert in poison. The poison in her body system was the most lethal and powerful of all known poisons; it was so powerful that she was known as the Angel of Death, beautiful but deadly. You have inherited that extremely lethal poison and it had stayed in your body system without any harm to you. You need to summon all of your grandmother’s poison to the location where the One Step To Hell Poison was most concentrated. It will absorb and neutralize the One Step To Hell Poison,” King Xia told the barely conscious Kiu Wai authoritatively but Kiu Wai had lapsed into unconsciousness again.

King Xia and King Chu immediately started to transfer their internal energies again to Kiu Wai; they kept Kiu Wai conscious long enough for him to start meditating. Kiu Wai remembered his grandfather’s words that he would know how to locate and control his grandmother’s poison in his body system. Kiu Wai concentrated hard and started to summon his grandmother’s poisonous internal energy to the location where the One Step to Hell was most concentrated. As his grandmother’s poison reacted with the weaker One Step To Hell Poison, totally neutralizing the One Step To Hell Poison, Kiu Wai felt a sharp pain in his guts shooting up his esophagus, burning his chest on the way. Kiu Wai’s face turned pink, red, purple, black, brown, green and white as he vomited a mouthful of foul smelling black colored blood. He fell forward into unconsciousness again.

King Xia and King Chu were relieved and happy that Kiu Wai had vomited the poison out. Kiu Wai may not be totally out of danger but they were confident that Kiu Wai would be able to recover completely. Kiu Wai was young and strong and he was used to having poison in his body system.

They transported Kiu Wai back to the Imperial Palace. Disregarding Imperial Protocols, Mei Ling had refused to let anyone else take care of Kiu Wai; she attended to all Kiu Wai’s needs herself. She couldn’t bear to stay apart from Kiu Wai and had a couch brought into the guest room where Kiu Wai was staying. She watched over Kiu Wai like a hawk, fed him all his meals and also prepared the herbal medicine that the Imperial Physician had ordered and saw to his comfort. She was exhausted but she refused to let anyone near Kiu Wai or help her with his care.

Kiu Wai slept most of the time; he woke up occasionally and listened to Mei Ling’s excited chatter about the events in the Palace. One day, Kiu Wai felt strong enough to sit up with Mei Ling; he enjoyed having her in his arms, “Princess Mei Ling, thank you for taking care of me while I was sick. I feel much better and soon I will be well enough to leave the palace.”

“Are you going to leave me?” Mei Ling asked fearfully.

“Princess Mei Ling, I will have to leave you sooner or later. You are of royal blood and your royal father would want a royal prince for you. I am just a poor man without an identity. I had promised my grandfather that I would find my biological parents to apologize to them on his behalf. I had been putting off my search for too long. I must fulfill my grandfather’s wishes. I have yet to apologize to your royal father for putting your life in danger,” Kiu Wai told Mei Ling with a rueful smile.

Kiu Wai had realized since finding out that Mei Ling was a princess that there would not be a future for him with Mei Ling. When Kiu Wai thought that he was going to die from the One Step To Hell Poison, he had told Mei Ling his real feelings and love for her but now that he is well, he knows that there was simply too great a class barrier between them. Even if King Chu was willing accept him as an eligible mate for Mei Ling, Kiu Wai knew that he would feel inferior and he preferred to be able to steer his own course in life.

“Don’t you love me anymore?” Mei Ling asked Kiu Wai, she was disappointed and hurt that Kiu Wai had planned to leave her as soon as he was well.

“I will always love you but we were not meant to be together. I am grateful for the care you had given me but it is not appropriate for you to take care of me any longer,” Kiu Wai told Mei Ling.

Mei Ling pushed herself away from Kiu Wai’s arms, “Xia Kiu Wai, why are you rejecting me and being so heartless? It had never bothered me that you were a commoner, I love you and I thought you love me too. You are being so mean and hateful,” Mei Ling stormed out of the room with tears in her eyes just as King Chu was entering the room.

Chapter 50

King Chu looked at his beloved daughter’s receding back thoughtfully. Normally King Chu Xin Lung would have punished the person who had caused his beloved daughter any unhappiness. However King Chu had high hopes for Kiu Wai. King Chu was grateful to Kiu Wai for saving Mei Ling’s life and that Kiu Wai was willing to sacrifice his life for Mei Ling showed the depth of Kiu Wai’s love for Mei Ling. King Chu knew that the young couple loved each other deeply. That was the reason he had allowed Princess Mei Ling to stay with Kiu Wai to take care of Kiu Wai while he was sick. Imperial protocol would have prevented such intimacy between a man and a woman who weren’t married to each other.

King Chu had great admiration for Kiu Wai’s expertise in martial arts and that Kiu Wai had shown that he was able to protect and control his beautiful but sometimes-willful daughter. So King Chu had continued to enter the room instead of chasing after his royal daughter to pacify her, “Ah, Kiu Wai, I see that you are feeling well enough today to fight with my royal daughter.”

Kiu Wai got up to bow respectfully at King Chu, “Greetings to Your Majesty. Please forgive me, I did not mean to offend Princess Mei Ling in any way.”

King Chu looked at the handsome young man in front of him. Kiu Wai was respectful but he had not cowered in his presence. Kiu Wai had shown confidence, courage and even a hint of arrogance. King Chu had admired that confidence in Kiu Wai, he had always hated people who had tried to score brownie points, “What were you two fighting about that got Princess Mei Ling so upset?”

“Your Majesty, I told Princess Mei Ling that I would be leaving soon to look for my parents. I promised my grandfather that I would apologize to them on his behalf when I find them. I did thank Princess Mei Ling for taking care of me but now that I am well, it is no longer necessary for Her Royal Highness to continue taking care of me. I also told Her Royal Highness that we were not meant to be together,” Kiu Wai told King Chu.

“I thought you loved my royal daughter, did you stopped loving her now that you are well again to pursue other girls?” King Chu asked Kiu Wai with annoyance.

“I will always love Princess Mei Ling and Her Royal Highness will be the only one who holds my heart but the class barrier between us was too high and I am not worthy of Princess Mei Ling’s attention. In addition, I am used to freedom and I have to be on the road soon to look for my parents,” Kiu Wai replied with honesty.

“I meant to ask you about your parents but first I want you to meet someone,” King Chu went to the door and led King Xia Wen Lun into the room. Kiu Wai looked at King Wen Lun with surprise. King Wen Lun looked so much like himself!

“Young man, this is my sworn brother Xia Wen Lun. He is very interested in your story of your life with your grandparents,” King Chu introduced King Xia without using his official title.

“My grandfather found me seventeen years ago during blizzard near the border to the Central Plains. A maid had held me in her arms till she died from the cold. There were four dead men in the vicinity. My grandfather took me home and my grandmother wanted to keep me so they took me with them and brought me up in Mongolia. My grandfather said that I was wrapped up in an expensive fur coat and I had a jade amulet with the word Xia carved on it. He didn’t know anything about my parents but had told me to look for my parents in the Central Plains,” Kiu Wai related what he knew about how he came under the care of the Northern Heretical Duo and showed the jade amulet to King Xia Wen Lun.

King Xia Wen Lun had tears in his eyes as he stepped forward to take Kiu Wai in his arms, “Kiu Wai, that was the amulet that my Sifu had given me when I became sworn brothers with King Xin Lung, I gave it to my infant son and he had it on him when he disappeared. I am your father! I thank the Gods in Heaven that I have found you at last!”

Kiu Wai looked at King Xia Wen Lun and returned his hug, “My father, I am so happy that we get to see each other. I want to apologize that I had failed in my filial responsibility and had not been there to take care of you.” Then Kiu Wai removed himself from King Xia’s embrace and knelt down in front of King Wen Lun, “I also want to apologize on behalf of my grandfather that he had not try hard to locate and return me to you.”

“It is alright, I am just happy to see you. Your mother is on her way and she will be so surprised and happy to see you,” King Xia told Kiu Wai, helping him up.

Just then a very beautiful middle-age woman came into the room. She did not see Kiu Wai at first because King Xia was blocking her view. She bowed to King Chu, “My warmest greetings to Your Majesty.”

King Chu looked at Queen Sin Mei with affection, “My beloved sister-in-law, it had been a very long time since we last met. I see that you are as beautiful as ever.”

King Xia did not feel jealous of the couple’s first meeting in nearly two decades. King Xia Wen Lun and Queen Sin Mei had grown very close as they bonded through grief with the loss of their infant son. Queen Sin Mei was not able to conceive again. Though she had urged King Wen Lun to get a second wife in order to get an heir, King Wen Lun had refused. When King Xia Wen Lun received news from King Xin Lung that a young man named Xia Kiu Wai who looked exactly like him when he was young had been found, he was cautiously optimistic that it could be his long lost son.

King Xia had not told Queen Sin Mei about it in order not to raise false hopes but he came to the Central Plains to see for himself. When he saw Kiu Wai in the cave, King Wen Lun was quite sure that Kiu Wai was his son. He had also found that carved jade amulet that his Sifu had given him on Kiu Wai. King Wen Lung’s Sifu had given one of the jade amulets to him and the matching one to King Xin Lung when they became sworn brothers. King Wen Lun had given the amulet to his infant son and his son had it on him when he disappeared. King Wen Lun had waited till Kiu Wai had recovered before acknowledging their relationship and sending for Queen Sin Mei.

Just then Queen Sin Mei saw Kiu Wai, she blanched as she walked as if in a trance towards Kiu Wai, “It just cannot be, my son, Wen Yip.”

King Xia reassured his wife, “Yes, this young man is our son, but his name is Kiu Wai. He had been called Kiu Wai all his life so he should keep his name.”

Queen Sin Mei took Kiu Wai into her arms, sobbing with happiness.

Chapter 51

Much later, King Xia Wen Lun and Queen Sin Mei thanked King Chu Xin Lung for his help in locating their son. King Xin Lung waved off their thanks. Suddenly King Xin Lung remembered that Kiu Wai was not aware of his parents’ royal status, “Kiu Wai, your royal parents are the reigning King and Queen of the country of Xia so you are a prince. Now there is no reason for you not to offer for my royal daughter.”

Kiu Wai reddened slightly with embarrassment and asked to be excused. He went to Mei Ling’s room and knocked on her door but Mei Ling had refused to open the door. So Kiu Wai sat on the steps outside her room the whole night. When the maid went in with a basin of water in the next morning for Mei Ling to wash up, they found the room empty.

Kiu Wai was very worried and had wondered how Mei Ling got away from the room unless there was a secret passage. He wasn’t going to divulge it even if he could find it but he was determined to find Mei Ling. Kiu Wai told his parents and King Chu of his intentions. They suggested that Kiu Wai take someone with him to help with the search but Kiu Wai had declined. He knew that Mei Ling was angry with him and he would have to pay the price to find her by himself.

Kiu Wai had almost fully recovered from his injury so he waved off his parents’ concerns. He promised King Chu that he would bring Mei Ling home and marry her. Kiu Wai set off for the Mo Lam. He was trying to think where he could find Mei Ling. He was worried about her safety because it was not safe for a young girl to be wandering around in the Mo Lam by herself especially when she was full of mischief. Kiu Wai suddenly thought of the martial arts tournament at Chi Lam Monastery. He knew that Mei Ling had been very interested in attending the tournament but due to unforeseen circumstances, they had not been able to go before. But knowing that it was still on, Kiu Wai was quite sure that Mei Ling had headed that way so Kiu Wai hurried on to Chi Lam Monastery.

When Kiu Wai arrived at Chi Lam Monastery, the martial arts tournament was nearing the finals. All the leaders of both the evil and righteous clans were there with their students and members. When Kiu Wai’s arrival was announced there was a buzz among the crowd. Everyone had heard about Kiu Wai’s stunt at the Green Snake Cult headquarters and was worried that he would take part in the competition because they were afraid to fight against Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai assured them that he was not going to participate in the tournament but he was there as a spectator. One could almost hear the unanimous sighs of relief.

Kiu Wai found Mei Ling standing at the edge of the competition field, watching the fighters with absolute concentration. Mei Ling did not even bother to acknowledge Kiu Wai’s presence when he greeted her amicably. “So this is how it is going to be, I will have to eat a lot of humble pies to get back into her good books again,” Kiu Wai thought with a sigh. He knew that he had angered Mei Ling with his words of rejection at the palace and he regretted those words. He had to find a way to win her back. Kiu Wai noticed that Mei Ling was staring at one of the fighters with a black sword who fought ferociously with his opponent in the competition ring. The young man was young and very good-looking. He looked thingyy and turned to wave at Mei Ling as he defeated his opponent. To Kiu Wai’s disgust, Mei Ling was cheering and clapping her hands hard for the young man.

The young man looked around arrogantly for his next opponent, “If no one dares to come up to fight with me, then I am going to be the next Young Leader of the Mo Lam. Another man in silver with a long silver spear jumped onto the competing field, “Little Punk, my name is Wang Ying, from the Silver Spear Clan. I am here to challenge you.”

The two men fought ferociously and to Kiu Wai’s surprise, the young man defeated the man in silver. Again the younger man turned to smile at Mei Ling as he was announced as the winner. The young man approached Mei Ling and bowed to her, “Miss Chu, I have won the competition and will be the next Young Leader of the Mo Lam. Your parents will be happy that I plan to make an offer to marry you.”

Kiu Wai turned to look at Mei Ling and asked incredulously, “You have promised to marry this man if he wins the tournament?”

“No, but I have told everyone here that whoever wins the competition could make an offer for me to be his wife,” Mei Ling told Kiu Wai calmly.

“Oh no, you didn’t!” Kiu Wai was aghast at Mei Ling’s daring proposal, “I am not going to allow you to marry anyone else,” Kiu Wai, declared possessively.

“Who do you think you are, my Father? By the time my father finds out about it, it will be too late because I would be married!” Mei Ling turned angrily away from Kiu Wai.

“Look, Little Punk, Miss Chu doesn’t want to talk to you, you should step away before I break your bones,” the young man who had won the competition was thingyy and foolish enough to push Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai looked at the young man with contempt, using his internal energy Kiu Wai repelled the young man without using his hands and the force threw the young man twenty feet away into the crowd. Everyone could only gape in awe at Kiu Wai’s strange but powerful martial arts skills.

“You are a bully,” Mei Ling accused Kiu Wai glaring at him angrily. She turned to the crowd, “I promise to marry the man who could defeat this obnoxious bully!”

Kiu Wai grabbed Mei Ling by her shoulders furiously, “And I will kill anyone who dares to touch you. You are mine! I am not going to let anyone come between us and interfere in our relationship. If you encouraged these men to fight against me for you, you would be sealing their fate.”

Chapter 52

“Young man, aren’t you being too arrogant to make such a bold statement? I do not want to marry this young girl but I am going to fight with you just to teach you a lesson,” a much older man told Kiu Wai.

“Elder Hero, I will not fight with you because I am only going to fight with the men who dared to have indecent thoughts about Mei Ling,” Kiu Wai turned away from the older man. The older man was angry and aimed a blow at Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai was afraid that Mei Ling would get injured, as she was standing right by his side so he met that blow with his palm. The older man was thrown fifty feet against the wall; severely injured. Everyone was shocked and surprised because the older man was the leader of the Golden Lion Clan and Kiu Wai had injured him with the man’s clan’s famous Golden Lion Claw Stance. Their martial arts skills were not taught to anyone outside their clan. How did Kiu Wai learn that exclusive martial arts skills?

Kiu Wai was shocked himself; he did not know that when he was severely injured by the One Step To Hell Poison, his body and immune system had tried to repair the injury. Trying to survive Kiu Wai’s body had attempted and succeeded in absorbing the energies that were directed at him to build up his strength. When King Chu and King Xia used their internal energies to help Kiu Wai, their combined internal energies had been absorbed by his body system and had remained there instead of dispersing, raising his internal energy to another level. Kiu Wai’s body would automatically block and repel any blows directed at him by reversing the flow of the energy back to the attacker using the energy from the attacker. When Kiu Wai summoned his own internal energy to hit at anyone, the energy would come in waves, becoming stronger with each subsequent wave, shattering every one and everything it was aimed at.

An elderly man with pure white beard came forward, “Young Man, who are you and how did you know the Golden Lion Claw Stance? It was taught only to the clan’s members.”

Kiu Wai was apologetic, “I am Xia Kiu Wai, student of the Northern Heretical Duo. I am sorry for injuring the elderly hero. I don’t know what had happened. I don’t know any Golden Lion Claw Stance, I was using his own energy against him.”

“That is a very rare accomplishment, having the ability to use the opponent’s own energy to counteract their blows. There would not be any point in anyone fighting you because they would be defeated by their own internal energies and martial arts stances,” the old man told Kiu Wai. He turned to the crowd, “I would suggest we named this young man Xia Kiu Wai as the next leader of the Mo Lam.”

“Oh no, I cannot accept the position, I am not interested in the intrigues in Mo Lam. I am here only to escort Princess Mei Ling home and to marry her,” Kiu Wai declined the martial arts experts’ offer and declared his intention regarding Mei Ling.

Mei Ling blushed crimson red, “Just because you have won the admiration of these martial arts experts, doesn’t mean that you have won. You haven’t won over me and I am not going to marry a bully like you!” Mei Ling turned on her heels and ran out of the hall with Kiu Wai chasing after her.

The rest of the martial arts experts looked at one another, shaking their heads. They knew without doubt that Kiu Wai could have defeated any one of them simply because they would be defeated by their own internal energies and martial arts stances. They prayed that Kiu Wai would not turn evil and used his skills against the general population. On the lighter note, the charming good-looking couple had enchanted them with their young love. By the look of things, the head strong Princess Mei Ling would be able to keep Kiu Wai occupied for a long time.

Kiu Wai caught up with Mei Ling a short distance away. He tried to engage Mei Ling in a conversation but she ignored him and walked on. When Mei Ling stopped at a roadside tea stand for refreshment, Kiu Wai sat at her table but she refused to listen or talk to him. Kiu Wai told her that he had found his parents, they were from the country of Xia and that his father was the sworn brother of her father. Kiu Wai told Mei Ling that he had the approval of King Chu and his parents to marry her but Mei Ling coldly told him that she would not marry him if he were the last man on earth, which bruised Kiu Wai’s ego terribly.

Kiu Wai decided that since Mei Ling was so determined not to marry him, he was not going to waste his time trying to persuade her. He kept quiet after that and did not make any other conversation with Mei Ling as he escorted her back to the palace in silence. Mei Ling went directly to her room and Kiu Wai went to King Chu to report that Mei Ling was back in the palace and they had both decided that they would not get married to each other.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 53

Kiu Wai went with his royal parents back to the country of Xia the next day despite King Chu’s attempts to persuade them to stay longer in the Central Plains. Kiu Wai and Mei Ling said their goodbyes politely like strangers, which disappointed King Chu and Kiu Wai’s royal parents. Kiu Wai was made Crown Prince for the country of Xia. With the position came all the responsibilities, which were tedious for Kiu Wai. He was not used to the palace life and the thousands of protocols he had to adhere to.

Kiu Wai did spend time with his parents and got to know them during his stay. He found his father a fair-minded monarch who ruled the country with iron fists but when it came to his mother, Queen Sin Mei, King Xia Wen Lun was the most devoted indulgent loving man and would do just about anything to please her. They were a loving couple who did not shy away from showing their love and affection for each other. Kiu Wai envied his parents’ love for each other. He felt lonely and though he would not admit it he missed Mei Ling very much but he was not going to beg her to love him. He felt restless and one day he told his parents that he was going to Mongolia to visit his grandparents’ graves.

When Kiu Wai reached his grandparents’ hut, everything was still intact and undisturbed. Kiu Wai went to his grandparents’ grave and told his grandfather that he had fulfilled his wishes and had found his parents. He told his grandparents that he had found the love of his life but she had rejected his love. He also told them that he did not have any good experience in the Mo Lam and that they were right, those martial arts experts were fools and he had decided to stay on in Mongolia to be near them.

One day Kiu Wai was picking herbs in the forest when Princess Siong Siong came to visit him. They were talking amicably when Mei Ling came upon them. Mei Ling had been sulking in the palace for days when King Chu finally scolded her for being spoilt and obstinate and that she had chased away a good man who had loved her with his whole heart. Mei Ling tried to excuse herself and put the blame on Kiu Wai that he had been mean to her but King Chu told her that a man had his pride and Mei Ling had hurt Kiu Wai’s feelings once too often and if she really loved him, she should tell Kiu Wai the truth about her feelings. He told her that true love comes once in a lifetime and she should hold onto to it otherwise she would regret it the rest of her life.

Mei Ling had missed Kiu Wai terribly; she regretted her cruel words to Kiu Wai but was too proud and stubborn to apologize. However after the talk with her royal father, Mei Ling decided to take his advice and set out for the country of Xia to look for Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai’s parents had welcomed her with open arms and told her that Kiu Wai had gone to visit his late grandparents’ graves so Mei Ling continued her journey on to Mongolia. When Mei Ling saw the affection shared by Kiu Wai and Princess Siong Siong, she was jealous and ran away crying.

Princess Siong Siong had seen Mei Ling and ran after her to explain. Princess Siong Siong told Mei Ling that there was nothing improper going on between Kiu Wai and her that they were just friends. Princess Siong Siong told Mei Ling that she had fallen in love with Han Yao Tien and they were going to get married as soon as they get permission from King Chu. Princess Siong Siong told Mei Ling that Kiu Wai had been very unhappy since he came back to Mongolia though he was too proud to admit it. However Princess Siong Siong had known Kiu Wai since childhood and could tell that he was unhappy and hurt because of his breakup with Mei Ling. Princess Siong Siong advised Mei Ling that if she wanted Kiu Wai, she should fight for his love.

Mei Ling went to the hut where Kiu Wai had been staying. She found him writing a book on herbal medicine. He looked up and greeted Mei Ling politely and turned back to his writing. Mei Ling sat down at the table and looked at Kiu Wai wondering how she could tell him that she is still in love with him. When Kiu Wai continued to ignore her, Mei Ling went out and walked to Kiu Wai’s grandparents’ graves. She knelt down in front of their graves and started to cry as she told them the mistakes she had made by hurting Kiu Wai. Mei Ling had traveled a long distance without much rest in addition to the emotional stress she was under, she was exhausted and soon fell asleep in front of the graves after pouring her heart out to Kiu Wai’s grandparents.

Many hours later, the sky had turned dark and Kiu Wai started to get worried when Mei Ling had not return to the hut. He had been upset with her and in a childish way had wanted her to pay for his suffering. He looked out of the window and found that it had started to snow heavily. He was wondering where Mei Ling could have gone to and decided to go to his grandparents’ graves to see if Mei Ling had been there. From a distance he saw her petite figure slumped in front of his grandparents’ graves. He rushed forward with his heart pounding erratically and fearfully. He found Mei Ling lying unconscious at his grandparents’ graves. Mei Ling was cold, pale and was barely breathing; she was suffering from hypothermia.

Kiu Wai carried Mei Ling back to his hut, he added more wood to the stove to build up the fire and covered Mei Ling with many layers of blankets and massaged her limbs to get her blood to circulate but she remained cold and unconscious. Kiu Wai then undressed Mei Ling and proceeded to transfer his internal energy to her. It took a long time for Mei Ling’s body to warm up and she slowly regained consciousness. Kiu Wai was so happy and relieved that she was out of danger that he held her tightly in his arms and rained kisses all over her face, murmuring over and over words of contrite for having been mean to her. He told her that he loved her more than ever and that he couldn’t live without her.

Mei Ling woke up and heard his declaration of undying love. She smiled at Kiu Wai, unashamed of her nakedness, feeling only warmth and protected in his strong arms. She told him that she loved him too and that she was sorry for making him suffer with her cruel words and obstinacy. They could not keep their hunger and desires for each other under control any longer, reaching out with eager arms, kissing each other passionately.

The flame of desire that Kiu Wai had lit in her consumed Mei Ling; eagerly she molded her seductive curves to his muscular body. Kiu Wai could barely keep his desires under control, Mei Ling’s inexperienced touches sent waves of passion coursing through his blood stream, the sexiness of her silky skin and her soft gasps of surprise as he kissed each unexplored curve had his heart pounding erratically. In the end Kiu Wai held onto Mei Ling tightly, imprisoning her exploring hands, breathing deeply as he fought for self-control. He wanted Mei Ling desperately but he treasured her innocence more. He respected Mei Ling and their love so he decided that they would wait to consummate their relationship on their wedding night.

Kiu Wai held Mei Ling in his arms and the two of them settled for gentle kisses and soft caresses. It was a very long time before they were satisfied with showing the love they had for each other. A huge blizzard had blown in, cutting them off from the rest of civilization but the young couple did not care, they felt protected and safe in each other’s arms, They did not feel the cold, the flame of their love and desires kept them warm and toasty as they cuddled and kissed, undisturbed as they discovered the joys of intimacy with the one they loved.

Chapter 54

When the blizzard cleared up, Kiu Wai and Mei Ling decided to go back to the country of Xia to let his parents know that they loved each other as much as ever and would get married afterall. The journey back to the country of Xia was full of easy companionship and laughter, the young couple was happy to be together. King Wen Lun and Queen Sin Mei were ecstatic that the young couple had reconciled. Queen Sin Mei treated Mei Ling as her daughter showering her with lots of love. Mei Ling reminded Queen Sin Mei of herself when she was Mei Ling’s age spoilt, spirited, mischievous, loving and kind. King Wen Lun saw Kiu Wai as a younger replica of himself, the honor, honesty, confidence, courage, and the endless love Kiu Wai had for his Mei Ling.

When King Xin Lung was informed that Mei Ling had reconciled with Kiu Wai, he was more than pleased. He wanted his royal daughter to be happy and marry someone she loved with her whole heart. He knew that Kiu Wai would be the only one for his beloved royal daughter. King Xin Lung was even more than happy that Kiu Wai was the son of the only woman he had ever loved. Mei Ling went back to King Xin Lung after staying with Kiu Wai’s royal parents in the country of Xia for a couple of days. A royal matchmaker from the country of Xia came to King Xin Lung with lots of gifts and jewelry for Princess Mei Ling. Together King Xin Lung and Kiu Wai’s royal parents planned to have the biggest wedding ever seen.

Everyone was excited in the Central Plains. The martial arts experts from both the evil clans and righteous clans were united in their best wishes for the young couple. They had recognized that Kiu Wai would make a great leader in the Mo Lam with his invincible martial arts skills and would be a great addition in the Central Plains when he married their princess. The leaders of the clans came formally to pledge their loyalty to Kiu Wai and King Chu Xin Lung.

The marriage of Prince Xia Kiu Wai with Princess Chu Mei Ling would unite the Central Plains and the country of Xia. King Chu Xin Lung officially proclaimed Kiu Wai as his heir to the throne after the wedding, thereby formally uniting the Central Plains and the country of Xia. Kiu Wai and Mei Ling would be spending half the time in the country of Xia and the other half of the time in the Central Plains.

On the wedding day, Han Yao Tien led the procession of royal escorts to bring Princess Mei Ling to her groom Prince Kiu Wai. The journey was uneventful but joyous with the country folks lining the roads with best wishes for their princess and prince.

The great hall of the palace of Xia was decorated with flowers, red silk, gold banners with words of greetings and wishes for harmony, happiness and prosperity. King Xia Wen Lun and Queen Sin Mei sat on the thrones with royal musicians playing traditional wedding music. Princess Mei Ling looked stunningly beautiful, dressed in her wedding gown of red silk that was heavily embroidered with gold threads and her wedding headgear was decorated with precious stones and pearls. Prince Kiu Wai was dressed in red wedding suit and looked dashingly handsome.

Kiu Wai met Mei Ling at the entrance to the great hall and together they held a length of red silk cloth with a red silk bow and walked towards the royal couple of Xia. Kiu Wai and Mei Ling bowed to Kiu Wai’s royal parents and to Heaven and Earth; they officially became husband and wife. Queen Sin Mei cried with joy that she was getting a beautiful daughter in law who would make her royal son happy and she loved Mei Ling even more because she was the daughter of her first love, King Xin Lung. Queen Sin Mei was very happy and in love with King Wen Lun but she still regarded King Xin Lung with utmost affection.

Mei Ling was brought to the bridal suite to wait for Kiu Wai who had to drink with his friends before retiring for the night. When Kiu Wai came into the room, Mei Ling was sitting on the edge of the bed, with her bridal clothes and headgear on. She had a red silk cloth shielding her face. Kiu Wai approached Mei Ling quietly, he sat down next to her and pulled the silk cloth aside and stared at Mei Ling for a long time, admiring her delicate exquisite features and drowning in her mesmerizing eyes. He took both of her hands in his and brought them up to his lips to press a deep kiss on each of her palms, causing an electrifying shiver of excitement through her.

Kiu Wai bent his head to whisper into her ears, “My beautiful wife, I love you with all my heart. I hope that I can make you as happy as you have made me and that we will embark on our journey of marital life with lots of excitement, love and glorious make-ups. I promise to love you forever and always and to protect you with my life.”

Mei Ling looked up shyly at Kiu Wai, with her eyes shining with love and adoration for her handsome husband and whispered, “Kiu Wai, I love you more than life itself, I hope that I can make you just as happy as you have made me. Make me yours totally body and soul.”

Kiu Wai groaned as he caught the shy whispered encouragement from Mei Ling. He bent his head to kiss her gently on her cheeks; his lips worshipped every inch of her face, returning over and over again to tease her lips. Mei Ling sobbed with frustration as she sought to capture his lips. At last Kiu Wai stopped teasing Mei Ling and captured her lips in a deep passionate kiss, stealing her breath away. He began his serious seduction of her innocence with soul searing kisses, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips and seeking the sweetness within, as she lay within his protective arms, her silky hair spread out in wild sensuous disarray on the pillow.

Kiu Wai removed Mei Ling’s clothes slowly; her silky flawless skin and feminine curves enticed him with their perfection. He kissed and nibbled at her curves, driving her almost insane as she trembled with desire. His long fingers creating havoc on her skin and senses as they caressed her intimately. Mei Ling grabbed a hold of Kiu Wai’s face between her hands, begging him to take her to the heights of passion as the bare skin of his chest rubbed against her curves creating an urgent need in her that only he could satisfy. Her lower limbs felt weak and restless as they were entangled sensually with his.

Her sharp gasp of discovery was the most erotic sound in his ears as he took her to the heights of passion, riding waves after waves of unbelievable earth shattering sensation, melting her bones, turning her blood streams into hot rivers of lust, the silver light blinding her as they reached the climax together. They clung together, breathless and trembling from aftershocks of their mind shattering experience, with Kiu Wai murmuring against Mei Ling’s lips, “My wife, my love; totally mine forever.”

THE END