Chapter - 410 Being Driven Mad By Unredressed Mongol Injustice (10)

Zhang Wuji pondered on what she said. It was as if she was speaking about his martial uncles' suspicion towards him, but he also felt that she was speaking about his own suspicion towards her. He turned his gaze to her, and noticed that she was limping; her footsteps were slow and unsteady. Apparently, her injury had made her walk with difficulty. In his heart he took pity on her, also could not bear to let her go like that.

Zhao Min had not walked too far when suddenly they heard rapid hoof beats on the main road, coming from the north. There were three riders: one in the front and two at the back. Zhao Min quickly retreated as she heard the hoof beats. "Some people are coming!" she said.

Zhang Wuji beckoned to her. Zhao Min went to the back of the large rock in a hurry and crouched down next to him. She noticed that half of Yu Lianzhou's body was protruding outside the rock; she pulled him behind the rock.

Yu Lianzhou glowered and barked, "Don't touch me!"

With a cold laugh Zhao Min said, "I want to touch you. What are you going to do with me?"

"Miss Zhao," Zhang Wuji snapped, "Don't be rude to my Shibo!" Zhao Min stuck out her tongue and made faces toward Yu Lianzhou.

By this time, the horse in the front was not too far away, while the two riders chasing behind him were flying close to him, perhaps about twenty, thirty 'zhang's away from him. As the first rider got closer, in a low voice Zhang Wuji said, "It is Song Qingshu, Song Dage [big brother]!"

"Stop him, quick!" Zhao Min said.

"What for?" Zhang Wuji was surprised.

"Don't ask too much," Zhao Min replied, "Have you forgotten what they said in the Mi Le Temple?"

Zhang Wuji's heart was stirred; he picked a chunk of ice from the ground and flicked it out. 'Swish!' the chunk of ice flew straight to the front leg of Song Qingshu's mount. The horse neighed in pain and knelt down to the ground. Song Qingshu leaped up and tried to pull his horse back up, but as the horse fell, it broke its left leg.

Seeing the pursuers were getting closer, Song Qingshu hastily ran to the side. Zhang Wuji flicked another piece of ice and hit the acupoint on his right leg. Zhao Min reached out and successively sealed the Four Heroes' mute acupoints, to stop Song Yuanqiao from calling out.

"Ah!" they heard Song Qingshu cry out and tumble down on the snowy ground. Because of these two hindrances, the two riders quickly overtook him; they were none other than the Beggar Clan's Chen Youliang and Zhang Bo Longtou.

Zhang Wuji felt strange, "The three of them are going to Mount Changbai together to get the necessary poison to make the drug; how come one was running away and the other pursued to this place?" he thought, but then he remembered, "That's right, it must be that Song Dage was pricked by his own conscience and was not willing to do this unfilial and unrighteous thing. Fortunately he came across me, so I can save him."

Chen Youliang and Zhang Bo Longtou dismounted their horses. They only knew that Song Qingshu had been riding the horse for a long time, perhaps he was exhausted, so that when the horse stumbled, Song Qingshu also fell down from his mount. But they also thought that Song Qingshu's martial art was not weak; even if he was injured, his injury must be light. Two people came close with their weapons pointed toward Song Qingshu's body.

Zhang Wuji had prepared another piece of ice in his hand, ready to be flicked toward Chen Youliang. Zhao Min touched his arm and shook his hand. Zhang Wuji turned around to look at her. Zhao Min placed her own left palm on her ear, and then pointed her finger toward Song Qingshu. Her meaning was clear, she wanted to listen to what they were going to say.

"Surnamed Song," they heard Zhang Bo Longtou indignantly said, "You sneaked out in the middle of the night, what is your intention? Are you going to leak our secret by telling your father?" In his hand was a purple-gold eight-trigram [ba gua] saber, which he brandished above Song Qingshu's head, ready to be chopped down.

Hearing the wind the Ba Gua saber produced, Song Yuanqiao was concerned over his beloved son's safety; he grew exceedingly anxious. Zhang Wuji happened to turn his head around and saw the anxious look on his face, which very soon turned into a pleading look. Zhang Wuji nodded his head, meaning, "Don't worry, I will in no way let Song Dage suffer any harm." While thinking in his heart, "The love parents have for their children is very profound [lit. as high as the sky, as thick as the earth]. Da Shibo [first martial (older) uncle] is very angry with me; if he could, he would chop me into thousand pieces, yet as he sees Song Dage is facing a danger, he immediately asks me for help. If it was Da Shibo himself who is facing a danger, as a brave warrior, he would never show any weakness by asking somebody else's help." Almost instantly he also thought that Song Qingshu was very fortunate to have people who cherished and showed loving care to him, while he was an orphan without any parents' love.

He heard Song Qingshu reply, "I am not about to tell my Father."

Zhang Bo Longtou said, "Bangzhu [Clan Leader] ordered you to come with me to Mount Changbai to pick some medicine, why are you disobeying the order by leaving?"

"You were also born from your parents," Song Qingshu said, "You want me to harm my own father, how can my heart endure it? I refuse to do this beastly act."

In a stern voice Zhang Bo Longtou said, "You have made up your mind to defy Bangzhu's order, then? Do you know what punishment we impart to those who revolt against the Clan?"

"I am a criminal in this world," Song Qingshu replied, "I do not hope to be alive. In these past few days, as soon as I closed my eyes, I saw Mo Qishu come to demand my life. His ghost does not want to go away, it keeps entangling me. Zhang Bo Longtou, please just chop me dead, I will be very grateful to you."

Zhang Bo Longtou lifted his Ba Gua Saber high, and shouted, "Very well! I will help you!"

"Longtou Dage," Chen Youliang stopped him, "If Song Xiongdi is not willing, killing him won't do us any good. Let's just let him go."

"Are you saying we should let him go in just like that?" Zhang Bo Longtou was surprised.

"That's right," Chen Youliang said, "He has killed his own martial uncle Mo Shenggu, there will be people from his own Sect who'd kill him. This kind of injustice involves a sinful disciple's blood, do not defile our chivalrous weapons."

At the Mi Le Temple, Zhang Wuji had heard Chen Youliang bringing up Mo Shenggu's name to Song Qingshu, he said something about 'a junior defying his senior'. At that time, Zhang Wuji suspected that Song Qingshu had offended his martial uncle, but never in his wildest imagination Zhang Wuji would guess that Mo Shenggu died under Song Qingshu's hands. Although Song Yuanqiao and the others were hidden behind a large rock, they were able to hear Song Qingshu clearly; they were all greatly shocked. Zhao Min was the only one who had guessed about 30% of the story; a smile of disdain appeared on the corners of her mouth.

"Chen Dage," they heard Song Qingshu's trembling voice, "You have given me a heavy oath that you will never divulge this secret. How can my father find out as long as you do not say anything?"