Chapter - 90 Endless Joy At the Reunion of the Seven Swordsmen (16)

"'The Four Brothers of Po Yang' are certainly not bandits. So why did they take these jewels? You see, the eldest brother got in trouble with the law, and landed on death row in prison. About to be executed, his three brothers tried twice to bust him out of prison. They failed both times, and the prison became even more closely guarded. Knowing that officials are corrupt, the three brothers wanted to bribe them using this jewelry, to lessen their big brother's crimes. I was moved by their friendship, and helped sneak their big brother out of prison. In return, I asked them to give Gong JiuGui his jewelry. Gong JiuGui might not be the greatest person in the world, but haven't really done anything bad in his life. He didn't befriend any officials in Da Du, nor ever oppress the poor. So I figured his life was worth saving. I told 'The Four Brothers of Po Yang' not to mention my name, just leave me the jewelry bag. So when I handed him the bag, Gong JiuGui understood what had happened."

Yu LianZhou said, "You did the right thing, fourth brother."

Muo ShengGu said, "Fourth brother, what did you give Qi TianBiao?" Zhang SongXi said, "I gave him nine 'Soul-Splitting Centipede Darts'." The five listeners all gasped. 'Soul-Splitting Centipede Dart' is very famous in the martial world. It's the hidden weapon used by the rich aristocrat Wu YiMang.

Zhang SongXi said, "Thinking back, I was too reckless when I dealt with this situation. That day, while Qi TianBiao was escorting a shipment, he offended a disciple of Wu YiMang. The two fought, with Qi TianBiao seriously injuring that disciple with a punch. Qi TianBiao immediately realized that he's in trouble after landing this punch. So he quickly completed the shipment, and hurriedly back to his hometown Jin Ling, where he can ask several friends for help. But unfortunately, Wu YiMang caught him up at Luo Yang city, and challenged him to a duel at the city's western gate." Yin LiTing said, "Wu YiMang's kung fu is very good. Qi BiaoTing is not his match."

Zhang SongXi said, "You're right. Qi TianBiao knew this too. So he asked the Qiao brothers of Luo Yang to help him. The Qiao brothers agreed immediately, and said, 'You should know that with our kung fu ability, we are no match for Wu YiMang. So you just want us there for support. Don't worry, we will arrive on time.'"

Muo ShengGu said, "The Qiao brothers are hidden weapon experts. With their help, three against one, they might have a chance. But did Wu YiMang get any help?"

Zhang SongXi said, "No. But something happened to the Qiao brothers. The next morning, Qi TianBiao went to the Qiao brothers' house to discuss battle plans. But the servant said that the brothers had left town for an emergency. Qi TianBiao was furious. Several years before, Qi TianBiao helped the brothers out of a major dilemma. He didn't expect these brothers to sneak away during his moment of need. Knowing Wu YiMang's merciless ways, Qi TianBiao knew he would not survive this encounter. He wrote a will and gave it to a subordinate. Then went to the west gate for the appointment."

"Of course, I saw everything. So that day I disguised myself as a beggar, and sat under a tree outside the west gate. Wu YiMang and Qi TianBiao came one after the other. Soon after they started fighting, Wu YiMang used his 'Soul-Splitting Centipede Dart'. Qi TianBiao knew he couldn't evade it, and simply closed his eyes to wait for death. I swooped in at this moment, and caught the dart. Wu YiMang was shocked and furious. He asked if I were a member of the Beggar's Clan. I just smiled in silence. He then fired eight more darts. I caught every single one. His darts really were quite powerful. But if I had used Wu Dang skills, catching them would still be easy. However, I didn't want him to know who I am. So I pretended to have a crippled left leg and right arm. Then using only my left hand, I caught them all using Shaolin skills. The seventh dart was a really close call, as the tip narrowly missed my palm. Wu YiMang really did thought I was a Shaolin disciple, and asked which divine reverend was my master. I pretended to be a deaf-mute, and just muttered some nonsensical stuff. Knowing that he couldn't defeat me, Wu YiMang went away angrily. He never left home after that event."

Muo ShengGu shook his head and said, "Fourth brother, Wu YiMang might be a bad guy, but Qi TianBiao isn't a good guy either. Why did you risk saving him?"

Zhang SongXi said, "I was just felt nosy at the time. Besides, I also didn't know the prowess of Wu YiMang's darts."

Being a straightforward person, Muo ShengGu didn't figure out Zhang SongXi's reasoning. But Zhang CuiShan did so immediately. His fourth brother did all this to lessen the hatred for him, due to the Dragon Gate Escort Agency murder. Zhang SongXi knew the importance of these three escort leaders. Should there ever be any problems with the escort agencies, these three people would surely represent them. So Zhang SongXi purposely helped them beforehand in case of an event like this. Despite looking like 'coincidences', Zhang SongXi must've spent countless hours waiting for these events to occur.

Zhang CuiShan said, "Fourth brother, you and I are closer than blood brothers. I won't need to say the word 'thanks' to you. This whole incident, unfortunately, was all caused by your fifth sister-in-law." Then he told what exactly happened at the Dragon Gate Escort Agency that night. At the end, he said, "Fourth brother, do you know how we should resolve this?"

Zhang SongXi thought for a while, then said, "I have to ask the master first. But we can't bring the dead back alive. Fifth sister-in-law has also changed her ways. A person who has corrected his mistakes should be given a second chance. Big brother, don't you think so too?"

Song YuanQiao hesitated a moment, due to the severity of a ninety-plus murder case. But Yu LianZhou nodded and said, "I agree!"

Yin LiTing was most afraid of second brother. He knew that big brother has a soft heart, and can be easily persuaded. But second brother is cold and objective, and might be too harsh on fifth sister-in-law. Yin LiTing didn't know that Yu LianZhou had already heard this story. He had long forgiven Yin SuSu. Seeing his second brother's nod, Yin LiTing said happily, "Yeah, if others ask. Fifth brother can just say that he wasn't the murderer, and nothing else. He wouldn't be lying this way either." Song YuanQiao said in a scolding tone, "How could fifth brother purposely hide the truth like that? This is not an option." Yin LiTing asked, "Then what do we do?"

Song YuanQiao said, "In my opinion, after master's birthday. We should first find fifth brother's son. Then we'll have the gathering at the Yellow Crane Restaurant. After taking care of the Xie Xun issue, us six brothers, plus fifth sister-in-law, will go down to the south. Each of us will do ten good deeds within three years." Zhang SongXi said, "Good idea. If we could save one or two hundred people, we can partially make up for these deaths." Yu LianZhou said, "I like this idea. There's no point in further punishing fifth sister-in-law. Even her death wouldn't solve any problem."

Zhang CuiShan was exhilarated at the solution. He said, "Let me tell SuSu." He then told his wife what Song YuanQiao proposed, and that his brothers would look for WuJi after their master's birthday. Yin SuSu's illness was due to the loss of WuJi anyway. So these words settled her down a great deal. She thought that with the Six Heroes of Wu Dang's abilities, they could surely find WuJi. Zhang CuiShan then went to see Yu DaiYan. The brothers both felt joy and sadness as they reunited.