Chapter - 529 Refusing to Acknowledge Zhang As Husband (6)

Zhang Wuji smiled and said, "The sun is shining brightly, I can see everything clearly." His voice turned gentle; "Zhiruo," he said, "You have spent too much energy these past few days; you must be really tired. Perhaps you hallucinated and thought you saw something."

"Can't be! Can't possibly be!" Zhou Zhiruo insisted, "I saw it three times; three consecutive times." Her voice trembled; obviously she was terrified.

"What is it that you saw three consecutive times?" Zhang Wuji asked.

With one hand on his shoulder, Zhou Zhiruo tried to stand up on her trembling feet. And then, mustering all her courage and strength she turned around to look back. Just an instant she quickly turned her eyes toward Zhang Wuji again and seeing his gentle and soft expression, full of concern, her heart ached; suddenly she felt weary and dropped down on the ground.

"Wuji Gege," she said, "I … I have deceived you. I was the one who took Yitian Sword and Tulong Saber, I was the one who killed … killed Yin … Miss Yin … I was the one who sealed Xie Da Xia's acupoint. I … I did not marry Song Qingshu. In my heart I always have only … only you alone."

Zhang Wuji sighed. "Actually, I have already known everything. But … but why did you do it?"

Crying, Zhou Zhiruo said, "You don't know what my Shifu told me on the Wan An Temple Pagoda. She told me the secret of the Yitian Sword and the Tulong Saber. She wanted me to obtain the treasured Sword and Saber at all costs, to brighten the name of Emei Pai. She made me swear a heavy oath to pretend that I like you, but she would not allow me to fall in love with you …"

Zhang Wuji gently stroked her arm, remembering how he had witnessed Miejue Shitai struck Ji Xiaofu dead with her palm, how in the great desert Miejue Shitai swore to destroy the Ming Cult, how he saw her massacre the Cult disciples under the Rui Jin Flag with Yitian Sword in her hand. Afterwards, soaring down from the Wan An Temple Pagoda, she preferred death to being help by him. It all showed how deep her hatred toward the Ming Cult was. Since Zhou Zhiruo was appointed her successor and had received her last words, all kinds of malicious and cruel acts she did must be because of her Shifu's instructions.

By his nature, Zhang Wuji had always been very easy to forgive other people's offense. He had never held any grudge against anybody. Moreover, he remembered her kindness when they were little on the boat floating along the Hanshui River, how she helped him eat and took a good care of him. Also, during the fierce battle on the Brightness Peak, when he was fighting He Taichong, husband and wife, and the two tall and short elders of Huashan Pai, perhaps he would have been dead right then and there if she did not give him directions from the side. On top of that, he remembered that although she was malicious, cruel and crafty, all her actions were caused by her deep feelings toward him.

This moment, as her delicate and frail body was leaning against his bosom, Zhang Wuji could not help from having a tender feeling toward her. "Zhiruo," he called in a soft voice, "What did you actually see, which made you that scared?"

Suddenly Zhou Zhiruo jumped up and said, "I am not going to say. It must be one of those restless spirit came back to entangle me. I have done too much evil. I deserve this revenge. I have explained to you everything, I … I won't live long …" Covering her face, she scurried down the mountain.

Zhang Wuji felt as if his mind was enveloped in fog. "What restless ghost entangled her? Was it the Beggar Clan's people seeking revenge on her and dressed up as a ghost to frighten her?" Slowly he turned around and walked back to the Temple.

He saw Zhou Zhiruo go toward the Emei Pai crowd. Bei Jinyi took a coat and wrapped it around her shoulder. Zhou Zhiruo said something in low voice and the Emei Pai disciples bowed together.

By this time, most of the multitude of heroes had left the mountain, Kong Wen and Kong Zhi, two monks were busy sending them off. Yang Xiao, Fan Yao and the others congregated around Zhang Wuji. "We'd better take our leave too," Zhang Wuji said.

He saw Zhou Zhiruo walk toward Kong Wen and speak in a low voice. Kong Wen's countenance changed; he looked startled. Then Kong Wen shook his head. Whatever it was, it looked like Kong Wen had just refused her request. Zhou Zhiruo talked some more, and then suddenly she kneeled down in front of him. Clasping her palms together, she mumbled something that looked like she was praying. Kong Wen looked somber, his mouth muttered praises to Buddha.

"Jiaozhu," Zhou Dian said, "You must quickly stop her, don't let her do it."

"Don't let her do what?" Zhang Wuji asked.

Zhou Dian replied, "Miss Zhou is going to leave home [orig. chu jia] to become a monk. She … she is going to enter the gate of emptiness. It will be bad for you."

Yang Xiao snickered and said, "Even if Miss Zhou is going to leave home, she will become a nun, not a monk. Why would she take a Shaolin Pai monk to be her master?"

Zhou Dian slapped his forehead loudly. "Right, right!" he said, "I was muddleheaded. But what is Miss Zhou asking Kong Wen Dashi to do? One is Shaolin Pai Zhang Men, the other is Emei Pai Zhang Men, they are equal, nobody needs to kneel down in front of the other."

They saw Zhou Zhiruo standing up; her face showed she was somewhat comforted. Zhang Wuji sighed and said, "We don't need to meddle into someone else's business." Turning his head, he said, "Min Mei, let us leave." Who would have thought that as he turned his head, he did not see Zhao Min.

For the last several days, Zhao Min had never left his side; she always shadowed Zhang Wuji. Zhang Wuji was slightly stunned. "Where is Miss Zhao?" he asked, while in his heart he silently cursed, "Bad! I am sure Min Mei saw me when Zhiruo leaned against my chest. Could it be that she thinks I cannot forget my old flame and considers me as hopeless?" Hastily he ordered everybody to look for her.

Xin Ran, the Flag Leader of Lie Huo Flag said, "Reporting to Jiaozhu: subordinate saw Miss Zhao walking down the mountain!"

Zhang Wuji was grieved. "Min Mei has abandoned everything to follow me," he mused, "She has gone through I don't know how many adversities. How can I give up on her?" Thereupon, he turned to Yang Xiao and said, "Yang Xiong, I am asking you to take care of our business here. I am going to leave first."

He bid his farewell to Kong Wen and Kong Zhi, also to Yu Lianzhou, Zhang Songxi, Yin Liting and the others. Last of all, he said to Zhou Zhiruo, "Zhiruo, take a good care of yourself. We'll meet again some day soon." Zhou Zhiruo hung her head low; she did not reply, only nodded slightly. Beads of silver tears fell down from her face to the dusty ground.

Unleashing his 'qing gong', Zhang Wuji dashed down the mountain. For the next several 'li's, the mountain path was full with the heroes returning home from Shaolin Temple. He was not willing to greet the heroes one by one, so he simply flew past them from the side, yet along the way he did not see any trace of Zhao Min at all. In one breath he had pursued for more than thirty 'li's. The sky was turning dark, the people walking along the road was thinning. Suddenly he remembered, "Min Mei is best in planning and scheming. If she has a mind to avoid me, then most likely she will avoid the main road. Otherwise, with my speed, I should have caught up with her long ago. Could it be that she is still hiding around the Shaoshi Peak, waiting for me to leave before she comes out and walk away?"