Chapter - 405 Being Driven Mad By Unredressed Mongol Injustice (5)

They slept until midnight when suddenly they heard hoof beats from a distance. Zhang Wuji woke up with a start. Cocking his ears he could hear four horses coming from the south running to the north. The snow was still falling heavily outside the cave. He thought, "In the middle of the night, under a heavy snowfall, rushing along braving cold weather, they must have an extremely urgent matter to attend."

The sound hoof beats suddenly stopped as they came near to their place. A moment later the hoof beats started again, surprisingly, the sound turned toward their cave. Zhang Wuji was alarmed, "This cave is remotely located on the back of the mountain, if I did not chase that roebuck, I would not have found this place. How can they find their way over here?" But immediately he realized, "That's right, we left our tracks on the snow. The tracks must still be visible although it has been snowing heavily for half a night."

By now Zhao Min was awake; in a low voice she said, "Perhaps some enemy are coming. Let us hide and see what kind of people they are." As she was saying that, she grabbed some snow outside the cave and quenched out the fire with it.

By that time the sound of hoof beats ceased, but they heard four people walking on the snow toward the cave. In a short while they have came within a dozen 'zhang's away [1 zhang is approximately 10 ft or 3.3 meters] from the cave mouth.

In a low voice Zhang Wuji said, "These four people's movement is very agile, they must be very high skilled martial art masters." If they went out to cave to seek hiding place, they would definitely be detected by these four people. Without argument Zhao Min pulled his hand to enter further into the cave.

The deeper they went, the narrower the cave became, but surprisingly the cave was very deep. About a 'zhang' later there was a bend on the passageway. Suddenly they heard one of the people outside say, "There is a cave here."

The voice sounded very familiar to Zhang Wuji, since it belonged to his Si Shishu [fourth martial (younger) uncle] Zhang Songxi. While he was pleasantly surprised, the other man said, "The hoof prints and footprints are indeed heading towards this cave." It was Yin Liting.

Zhang Wuji was about to call when Zhao Min reached out to cover his mouth. She whispered in his ear, "It would be very awkward if they saw you and I in this cave together."

Zhang Wuji realized she was right; Zhao Min and he did not do anything shameful, but if the various martial uncles saw a young man and young woman pair sleeping together in a cave, how could they explain? Moreover, Zhao Min was a Mongolian princess who had held Zhang Songxi, Yin Liting, and the others captive at the Wan An Temple, where they were disgraced. It would be extremely awkward if the enemies meet here. He thought, "I'll wait until Zhang Sishu [fourth (younger) uncle Zhang, Yin Liushu [sixth (younger) uncle Yin] and the others leave the cave, and then I'll appear alone and meet them; and thus avoiding this awkward situation."

He heard Yu Lianzhou's voice saying, "Uh! There is a remnant of some firewood in here. Hmm, and some blood-soaked roebuck skin too."

Another voice responded, "My heart has always been disturbed. I hope nothing bad happened to Qidi [seventh (younger) brother]." It was Song Yuanqiao's voice.

Learning that his four martial uncles, Song, Yu, Zhang and Yin, were going out at together to find Mo Shenggu, and hearing from the tone of their voices, Zhang Wuji deduced that his Qi Shishu [seventh martial (younger) uncle] must have met some powerful enemy; he was somewhat anxious.

He heard Zhang Songxi laugh and say, "Da Shige [first martial (older) brother] always takes a good care of Qidi, just like when he was the inexperienced, teenage martial brother; while in fact, for the past few years Mo Qixia [seventh hero Mo] has earned an awe-inspiring fame for his fighting prowess. He has early on surpassed his own former prestige. Even if he met a powerful enemy, Qidi alone would not necessarily be unable to deal with it."

Yin Liting said, "I do not worry over Qidi as much as I worry over that child Wuji. His whereabouts is unknown. Currently, he is the Ming Cult Jiaozhu. A tall tree invites strong wind. A lot of people want to deal with him. Although his martial art skill is high, he is too naïve, he does not understand the sinister crisis of the Jianghu. I am afraid he might fall into some villain's wicked scheme."

Zhang Wuji was touched, thinking that his martial uncles' kindness to him was very deep; they kept thinking about his safety all the times. Zhao Min put her mouth on his ear and whispered, "I am a villain and at this moment you have fallen into my wicked scheme. Do you know it?"

He heard Song Yuanqiao say, "Qidi is heading north to look for Wuji. Apparently, he has picked up some scents on his whereabouts. Only, the eight-character message he left in a hurry in that Tianjin's inn is confusing."

Zhang Songxi said, "'A change in our Sect, needs to be taken care of urgently'. [men2 hu4 you3 bian4, ji2 xu1 qing1 li3 – eight characters] Could it be that there is a scum in our community? Could it be that that child Wuji …" Speaking to this point, he suddenly stopped. His voice was filled with deep anxiety.

Yin Liting said, "This child Wuji is not the kind who would corrupt his own Sect, I am sure of that."

"I am afraid that little witch Zhao Min is too treacherous for him," Zhang Songxi said, "Wuji is still too young and hot-blooded; he might be seduced by a pretty face like his father, who in the end brought ruin and shame upon himself …"

Four men no longer talked; they all sighed deeply. A moment later, Zhang Wuji heard the sound of flint as they lighted the wood to build a fire and cook their meals.

The fire light reached the back of the cave. Although they were hidden behind the bend, Zhang Wuji was still able to see Zhao Min's face vaguely. Her expression showed resentment and anger; he thought Zhang Songxi's words earlier must have angered her very much. Zhang Wuji understood her resentment, yet he was also startled, "What Zhang Sishu said is reasonable. My mother did not do anything evil, yet my father was implicated by her actions. This Miss Zhao has killed my Biaomei, disgraced my Tai Shifu [grand master] and my numerous martial uncles. But how can she be compared to my Mama?" Thinking to this point, his heart was thumping madly, he thought, "If they find out Miss Zhao and I are in here, the entire water of the Yellow River would not wash me clean."

He heard Song Yuanqiao speak with a trembling voice, "Sidi [fourth brother], there is suspicion in my heart, but I feel uncomfortable to say it out loud. I am afraid I am offending our own deceased Wudi [fifth (younger) brother]."

Zhang Songxi slowly said, "Is Dage [first brother] afraid that Wuji might suddenly harm Qidi?"

Song Yuanqiao did not answer, but although Zhang Wuji could not see him, he thought that Song Yuanqiao must have nodded his head slowly.

He heard Zhang Songxi continue, "This child Wuji is honest and generous. Reasonably speaking, that is very unlikely. I only worry that Qidi is hot-tempered and acts rudely. He might force Wuji and put him into a difficult position. Add to the fact that little witch Zhao Min is very crafty, she might incite those two against each other. If that happens, then … then … Ay, a man's heart is unfathomable, the matters of this world are difficult to predict. Till from the ancient times, it is difficult for a hero to resist a beautiful face. I only hope Wuji will be able to control his emotions well when facing important matters."