Chapter - 81 Endless Joy At the Reunion of the Seven Swordsmen (7)

Yu LianZhou spoke again, "Who are you? Wu Dang's Second Yu, Fifth Zhang, says hello." Other than a single boatman paddling each ship, no one else even appeared, much less responded.

Yu LianZhou suddenly came to a realization. He yelled, "Oh no!" and immediately dived into the water. Having grown up near a river, his swimming skills are excellent. He immediately saw four people swimming underwater, each holding a sharp prick, as if wanting to make a hole to the ship.

Yu LianZhou waited till they were close, and quickly attacked with both hands, sealing two enemies' pressure points. His leg shot out and hit the pressure point on the third enemy's waist. The fourth tried to swim away, but Yu LianZhou quickly grabbed his feet, and threw him up onto the boat. Realizing that with their pressure points sealed, the other three people would die underwater, Yu LianZhou threw them onto the boat too. That fourth person rolled once on the deck, and stood up. He then immediately attacked Zhang CuiShan. Zhang CuiShan saw that the attacker's kung fu is mediocre, didn't block, and simply grabbed his wrist with the left hand, then struck that person's pressure point on the chest with the left elbow. That man let out a light yell, and fell to the ground.

Yu LianZhou said, "There are some decent fighters on the shore. Enough talk, let's break through." Zhang CuiShan nodded, and ordered the boatmen to just keep going. When they sailed near the six small boats, Yu LianZhou picked up those four men, unsealed their pressure points, and threw them over to the other boats. Oddly enough, no one on the other boats made a sound. Even the people on the shore remained silent, as if they're all mute. The four men Yu LianZhou threw went into the cabin.

Just as their boat passed by the six opposing boats, one of their boatmen suddenly threw something with his hand. After hearing two 'ping' sounds, the wood on their boat started flying everywhere, and an explosion destroyed the rudder. The boat itself suddenly turned horizontally. That sailor had thrown two fish bombs, which fishers use to catch fish. However, the one he used had much more explosives than a typical one. So it could destroy parts of the boat.

Yu LianZhou remained calm, and quickly jumped to the neighboring boat. Confident of his abilities, Yu LianZhou went empty-handed.

The boatman did not react as he landed. Yu LianZhou yelled, "Who threw that fish bomb?" The boatman did not respond. Yu LianZhou walked into the cabin, and saw two men sitting inside. Neither reacted upon his entrance. Yu LianZhou grabbed one of them, yelled, "Where's your scoop to throw out water?" That person did not respond. Yu LianZhou didn't want to force him, and returned back out. He saw that the Zhang family had already made it to this boat.

Yu LianZhou snatched away the oar, and began to paddle this new boat. After a moment, Yin SuSu yelled, "They've scuttled the boat!" as they saw water seeping through the bottom. There was a hole on the bottom of the boat, which was covered by a cork. But now that the cork has been removed, water flooded in. Yu LianZhou jumped to the second boat, and saw a small pool of water on the deck. He turned around and said, "Fifth brother. Since they're forcing us to land, let's grant their wish!" Those six boats are perfectly positioned as stepping-stones, allowing them to easily jump to shore.

The remaining ten-plus hooded figures positioned in a semi-circle, surrounding them. The majority held long swords, but a few held double sabers, or whips, but no heavy weapons.

Yu LianZhou looked around, but didn't say anything.

The person in the middle gestured with his hand, and the crowd split apart. All of them bowed, their weapons facing the ground, opening a path. Yu LianZhou returned a bow, and walked through the opening. Just as he left, the people returned to their positions, surrounded the remaining three people.

Zhang CuiShan laughed, and said, "Oh, so you are all here for me. I'm quite honored that you've spent so much effort to capture me." That middle person thought for a moment, and the crowd opened up a path again. Zhang CuiShan said, "SuSu, you go first!"

Yin SuSu, carrying WuJi, began to walk out, when suddenly the sound of wind surrounded her, as five swords came right at WuJi. Yin SuSu retreated in shock. Those five people continued to pursue her, the sword tips continuously vibrated, but always near WuJi.

Yu LianZhou leapt forward, and flew toward the battle. His two hands quickly shot out four times, each time hitting one of the hooded person's wrist. In a flash, their four swords flew up into the air. Yu LianZhou quickly followed the four strikes by grabbing the fifth person's wrist, and sealed that hand's pressure point. The hand he struck felt quite soft, like that of a woman, so he quickly let go. That person's hand became numb, and immediately dropped the sword.

With no swords in their hands, all five hooded figures retreated. Two more sparkles appeared under the moonlight, as another two swords came at Yu LianZhou. The sword edges pointed horizontally, the tips slashed from left to right, both attackers used the technique 'Calm Desert Sand'. But there's not much force behind the technique, as if they didn't want to hurt him.

Yu LianZhou thought, "Kun Lun Sword Art! These are from the Kun Lun Sect!" When the swords reached about a feet from his chest, his chest contracted, two arms swept down from above, striking the flat area of the two swords.

These two strikes applied Wu Dang's inner power. Normally, this should result in both swords dropping from the hands. However, during the moment of contact, Yu LianZhou felt a soft force coming out of the sword, which neutralized part of his power, and allowed the swords to remain in hand. But even so, Yu LianZhou's power still pushed back the two attackers. One couldn't maintain balance, and fell to the ground. The other let out a cry, and coughed out some blood.

This was the first time any of these people let out a sound. The cry sounded like a woman's voice.

The middle hooded person waved the left hand, and everyone retreated away. Most of these people looked quite lean, most likely women dressed in men's clothing. Yu LianZhou said, "Second Yu, Fifth Zhang, wish to apologize to 'Mr. Iron Zither', for causing all this trouble." Those hooded figures did not respond, but one of them chuckled ever so slightly, in a woman's voice.

Yin SuSu put down WuJi, grabbed his hand tightly, and said, "The majority of them should be women. Second brother-in-law, are they from the Kun Lun Sect?" Yu LianZhou said, "No, they are E Mei disciples." Zhang CuiShan asked in surprise, "Then why did you mention 'Mr. Iron Zither'?"

Yu LianZhou sighed, and said, "They covered their own faces, unwilling to speak a word. So they obviously wished to hide their identity. When the five swords attacked WuJi, they used Kun Lun Sect's 'Winter Plum Sword Formation'. The technique against me was 'Calm Desert Sand'. I played along, went ahead and apologized 'Mr. Iron Zither' He TaiChong."

Yin SuSu said, "But how do you know they're E Mei disciples? Did you recognize someone?"

Yu LianZhou said, "No. None of their martial arts abilities are deep. Probably two generations removed from E Mei's Master Mie Jue. Or perhaps some of her latest disciples. I don't know any of them. However, they did indeed use E Mei's inner power to neutralize my two strikes against their swords. It's not hard to copy someone else's techniques. But you can't cover up your inner power."

Zhang CuiShan nodded, said, "When you struck their swords, they should've let go to avoid serious injuries. E Mei's inner power is quite powerful. However, they didn't have the ability to utilize it to full potential. Had second brother been fighting for real, both of them would've been dead by now. But E Mei and Wu Dang had always been on friendly terms."