Chapter - 28 Brilliance of a Blade Refined a Hundred Times (9)

After settling down Du DaJin, Yin LiTing goes back to Yu DaiYan's room, and cried again as he saw Yu DaiYan's pale, stiff face. When he came back out into the hall, he heard Zhang SanFeng say, "How venomous. SongXi. What do you suggest we do?"

Out of all his students, Zhang SongXi is the cleverest. He normally doesn't speak his mind much, but he is very good at analyzing. After Zhang CuiShan came back carrying Yu DaiYan, he felt much sadness, but at the same time started to investigate into this matter. Now that he heard his master ask, he says, "I believe this has nothing to do with Shaolin, but rather the Dragon Saber." Zhang CuiShan and Yin LiTing both let out an 'Ah', while Song YuanQiao says, "Fourth brother. I'm sure you've thought this out. Tell us your conclusion." Zhang SongXi says, "With third brother's mild temper, it's extremely unlikely that he made any enemy for no reason. That bandit he was suppose to kill was an outlaw. There's no reason why Shaolin would hurt him over that." Zhang SanFeng nods. Zhang SongXi continues, "Other than his joints, third brother was also poisoned back at Lin An city. If we want to find out exactly what had happened, we must first go to Lin An to investigate."

Zhang SanFeng nods again, says, "The poison he suffered is very unique. I still haven't found the right antidote. There are several tiny holes in his right palm and leg. Does anyone know who uses this type of hidden weapon?" Song YuanQiao says, "This is strange. If this person is good enough so that he can hit third brother with hidden weapons, why would they need poison on it?"

They all begin to think over this matter. After a while, they still could not find an answer, until Zhang SongXi says, "That man with the birthmark could've easily killed third brother, but instead simply paralyzed him. This obviously meant that he wanted to get some information from third brother. In my opinion, this information must have something to do with the Dragon Saber. Remember what Du DaJin said, that one of those six people yelled, 'Where's the Dragon Saber?'" Yin LiTing says, " 'Martial world's most venerable, Prized saber dragon slaying, Controlling all under Heaven, None dares to not follow. Power of heaven not appear, who can possibly compete?' This phrase has been around for a hundred years, could it be that there really is a Dragon Saber?"

Zhang SanFeng says, "Not even for a hundred years, at most seventy to eighty. It did not exist when I was young."

Zhang CuiShan says, "Fourth brother's right. We need to go down to the south to find the killer."

Zhang SanFeng asks Song YuanQiao, "What's your opinion?" For the past few years, Zhang SanFeng has been letting Song YuanQiao manage most issues within the Wu Dang sect. So he wants Song YuanQiao to make the decision. Song YuanQiao says, "Master. Not only is this about third brother's revenge, but also the reputation of Wu Dang. If we don't settle this in the right fashion, we might cause some big problems."

Zhang SanFeng says, "Right! You and SongXi, LiTing will take my letter to Shaolin tomorrow and meet Abbot Kong Wen. Ask him how to handle the matter. Shaolin's very strict. He will know how to take care of this properly." Song YuanQiao, Zhang SongXi, and Yin LiTing nod together. Zhang SongXi thinks, "Sixth brother alone should be sufficient for this trip. There must be some other reason that master wants all three of us to go." Zhang SanFeng confirms this by adding, "I am a escapist from Shaolin. After all these years, I guess they must respect the fact that I'm quite old, and never bothered to come to Wu Dang to capture me. But there is still some friction between us. Which is why I want three of you to go, to show more respect."

Zhang SanFeng then turns to Zhang CuiShan and says, "CuiShan, you'll go down south tomorrow, and meet up with your second and sixth brother. There, listen to second brother's orders." Zhang CuiShan nods. Zhang SanFeng then says, "Don't worry about drinking any wine tonight. A month later, we'll gather here again. If DaiYan won't recover, we can at least say goodbye to him." When he said to this part, he sighed deeply with a gloomy expression. Yin LiTing continues to wipe his tears as he cries. Zhang SanFeng then says, "Let's go to sleep."

Song YuanQiao says, "Master, third brother has been righteous his whole life. The lord will surely bless him, and… and…" He couldn't go on, knowing that more words would only sadden his master further. With tears coming out of his eyes, he follows his fellow brothers out, and back to his room.