Chapter - 126 Spectres of the Past (6)

Mei Chaofeng recalled how she and Chen Xuanfeng secretly married each other and how they feared their shifu's punishment. When they ran away from the Island, her husband told her to steal the second "Jiu3 Yin1 Zhen1 Jing1″ (Nine Yin Scripture). Later, they came to a remote mountain where they trained hard but after practicing for half a year, her husband said that he could not understand the true meaning of the text. He wanted to break his head out of frustration. That same year, my husband said, 'Zei2 po2 niang2 (Thief wife. His pet name for Mei Chaofeng?), we only stole one half of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. The first half of the scripture contains the foundation principles to practice the secret nei gong techniques. The kung fu scripture belongs to the Taoists and what our shifu taught us is completely different. We can't master this, what do you suggest we do?' I said, 'What choice do we have?' He said, 'Return to Taohua Island.' How could I dare to go back? Both of our skills had become ten times stronger but our shifu only had to use two fingers.

Zei Hanzi (Thief man) was also afraid but knowing how many wonderful techniques he could not practice at the time, he was willing to die. He had made up his mind to steal the scripture and said, 'If we are going to be the unmatched couple under the heaven, then Zei Poniang (Thief wife) must be prepared to be a widow.' I did not wish to be a widow! If one must die, then the other must also die in the same place. And so both of us decided to risk our lives by going back. We found out later that after we ran away, shifu in a great fit of temper broke the legs of all of his disciples and expelled them from his island. That was why there was only him, his wife, the two of us, and his servants.

When we arrived in Taohua Island, we discovered two people engaged in a fight. Shifu's opponent looked like an expert. The two of them were arguing about the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing and as they quarreled, one of them opened a move. This person was Quanzhen sect and although he spoke foolish words, his kung fu was high, arriving at a level which I could not even imagine. But shifu, when compared to him, had a better chance of winning. Witnessing this martial arts duel only served to frighten us out of our wits. I said quietly, 'Zei Hanzi, we are inferior. Let's get away!" But he was not willing. We watched as shifu grabbed his opponent, forcing him to take the oath of never voluntarily leaving the Island. Remembering that shifu's wife used to treat me with kindness, I decided to look for her through the window. Who would have thought that all I would see was a mourning hall? Shifu's wife had passed away. In my heart, I felt very sad. Shifu's wife always treated me well but now that she's dead, shifu was alone. I really felt sorry for him that time. I couldn't stand it.

While I was crying, I suddenly saw near the mourning hall a one-year old little girl, sitting straight up from a chair and smiling at me. This girl really looked like my shifu's wife so I suposed she was the daughter. Was it because of childbirth that she died? I was thinking this when shifu noticed me. He flew from the mourning hall and stepped outside. I was so frightened, my feet grew soft and I couldn't move. I heard the girl laughing and calling: 'Daddy, hugs!' Her smile was like a flower as she opened her arms towards shifu. This girl saved my life. Shifu feared that she would fall down and so stretched out a hand to grab her. Zei Hanzi then pulled me and we both dashed out, snatching the boat, the sea water splashing inside. My heart was thumping so hard, it seemed like it was going to jump out of my throat.

Zei Hanzi saw shifu fighting and had henceforth lost heart. He said, 'Not only have we not learned a tenth of shifu's kung fu but with this Quanzhen master, how can we compare?' I said: 'You regret? If the shifu can do it, then one day we can also learn his kung fu.' He said, 'If you don't regret, then I do not regret.' Thereupon, he used the fiercest martial arts method he could find and taught me everything. He said that although this method was heretical, it allowed us to increase our skills.

At the beginning, our abilities became astounding and as we ran amuck in Jiang Hu, we earned the nickname of 'Twin corpses of the Dark Winds.' That Shen Long who flew through the sky with his axe exorcising evil spirits, was it Zei Hanzi who killed him or was it I? My memory is not so clear as to who killed but all is the same in any case. One day, we were practicing in the temple ruins the "Cui1 Xin1 Zhang3" (Destroying Heart Palm), when suddenly from all directions appeared dozens of skilled people. They were lead by our fellow apprentice, Lu Chengfeng. He hated us after shifu broke his two legs and now gathered a large group of people to help him capture us to give to shifu. THis boy really thought that he could defeat us. Humph, the 'Twin Corpses of the Dark Winds' are not that easy to defeat. Though we were able to kill 78 men and run away, we were also heavily injured. After several months, we found out that the Quanzhen Seven Elders were also secretly following us. We did not want to fight the opponents all at once because they were too many so thereupon, we left the Central Plains until we reached the Mongolian prairies.

Zei Hanzi was worried that people would steal the Taoist scripture. He told me not to look. I did not know where he hid it. 'Good, Zei Hanzi, I don't know where to find it.' 'Zei Poniang, I will be good to you. I'll take care of you and teach you everything except the Taoist nei gong. If we force it, we could harm our bodies.' 'Alright! What are you waiting for?' Thereupon, we continued to practice the "Jiu3 Yin1 Bai2 Gu3 Zhua3" (Nine Yin White Bone Claw) and the "Cui1 Xin1 Zhang3." He said these two techniques were heretical and fierce but did not require one to learn nei gong. Suddenly, one evening in that stark mountainside, the Seven Freaks of Chiangnan attacked me. 'My eye! My eye!' The pain was burning from the toxins. I crawled on the ground, scratching my eyes. I did not die but my eyes were blinded and my husband dead. That was retribution for that time when we once killed that blind Ke Zhen'e's elder brother and blinded his (Ke Zhen'e) eyes.

As Mei Chaofeng thought about this painful matter, both her hands tightened instinctively, creating a noise as she grinded her teeth.

Guo Jing felt like the bones in his left hand were going to break and secretly complained, This is not good. How do I konw what kind of vicious method she's going to use to kill me? Then, he said: "Hey, I don't know what you want to do but I want to ask you something, please agree."

Mei Chaofeng said coldly: "You want to ask me something?"

Guo Jing said: "Yes. I have several medicines and I ask you to be generous. Please take away some of these and give it to Taoist Elder Wang in the Prosperity Inn outside the city."

When Mei Chaofeng did not answer and continued to stare blankly at him, Guo Jing said: "You agree? Many thanks to you!"

Mei Chaofeng said: "Many thanks what? All my life, I've never done any good deed!"

She could not call to mind how much pain she suffered in her life, nor could she recall how many people she had killed, but that night on the barren hill, she remembered clearly. My surroundings suddenly went black and I could not see even the stars. Zei Hanzi said, 'I have failed! The Taoist scripture is hidden in my chest…' These were his last words. Suddenly, a heavy rain began to pour and the Seven Freaks of Chiangnan began fiercely attacking me. I was hit in the back by a palm. This person's internal strength was profound; the pain from his hit reached my bones. I carried Zei Hanzi's corpse and escaped, descending the mountain even though I could not see.