Chapter - 138 Changchun Admits Defeat (8)

Qiu Chu Ji yelled: "Brother Yang, don't throw your life away in vain!" By the time he finished his sentence, Ouyang Ke had already broken the spear with his left foot and kicked Yang Tie Xin to the ground with his right. At this very moment there emerged the sound of hoofs; a great number of horses were galloping swiftly towards them. Leading the way were none other than Wan Yan Hong Lie and Wan Yan Kang, father and son.

Wan Yan Hong Lie caught sight of his wife seated on the ground from a distance. Delighted, he hurried to her but suddenly a blade sliced through the air and came hacking right at him. Slanting his body to avoid the blow, he saw that the wielder of the blade was a young girl dressed in red. At this point, his soldiers came forward and started fighting Mu Nian Ci.

Over at the other end, Wan Yan Kang was secretly startled on seeing his Shifu and shouted: "We're all on the same side, everyone stop fighting!"

Only after repeating a few times did Peng Lian Hu and the others finally retreat; the soldiers and Mu Nian Ci also halted. Wan Yan Kang approached Qiu Chu Ji and bowed. "Shifu, let your disciple do the introductions," he said. "These are all senior pugilists engaged by my father."

Qiu Chu Ji nodded and went to check on his Elder Martial Brother. Ma Yu's right palm was blackened all over and, lifting up his sleeve, Qiu Chu Ji saw that the blackness had spread all the way to the upper part of his arm. Astonished, he said: "How come the poison is like that?" Turning around, he said to Peng Lian Hu: "Hand over the antidote!"

Peng Lian Hu hesitated, thinking: "Just a little while more and this person will die, but it won't be appropriate to offend the little prince. Should I save him or should I not?"

Now that Ma Yu had no more enemies attacking him, he concentrated all his internal energy on resisting the poison and sure enough, the poison halted at his arm and could not travel further upwards. Instead, the blackness gradually started moving downwards.

Wan Yan Kang rushed over to his mother and exclaimed, "Mother, I've finally found you!"

Bao Xi Ruo was frightened and replied, "Do not ask me to return to the palace. I will never!"

Shocked, Wan Yan Hong Lie and Wan Yang Kang said in unison: "What?"

Bao Xi Ruo pointed at Yang Tie Xin. "My husband is actually still alive, and I will follow him to the ends of the earth," she said.

This came as no ordinary blow to Wan Yang Hong Lie, and he subtly mouthed something to Liang Zi Weng. Liang Zi Weng understood the prince's intentions and hoisted his right hand, sending three of his Bone-Penetrating Meridian Nails flying towards Yang Tie Xin's essential junctures. Qiu Chu Ji saw the flight of the nails but it was too late for him to do anything, and Yang Tie Xin would surely not be able to evade. Having no projectiles with him, he grabbed a Jin soldier out of desperation and hurled him towards the space between Liang Zi Weng and Yang Tie Xin. With a loud "ah", the three Meridian Nails had struck the soldier.

Liang Zi Weng prided his Bone-Penetrating Meridian Nails as his greatest skill. Having fired three nails simultaneously, it was absurd to think he would miss the target. Seeing that Qiu Chu Ji had foiled his move in such a peculiar way, he roared angrily and attacked. Peng Lian Hu saw this and decided against giving the antidote, knowing that the little prince's priority was rescuing his mother. He leapt forward abruptly and grabbed hold of Bao Xi Ruo's arm. With two swishing sounds, Qiu Chu Ji sent his sword piercing towards both Liang Zi Weng and Peng Lian Hu. Both saw that the strokes came fierce and were forced backwards. Qiu Chu Ji thundered at Wan Yan Kang: "Ignorant boy, you have called your enemy 'father' and led 18 years of your life in folly. Now that your real father is here, aren't you going to acknowledge him?"

Having heard it from his mother, Wan Yan Kang was already 80% convinced. Hearing it from his Shifu now further reinforced his belief and he glanced at Yang Tie Xin. Wan Yang Kang saw that his clothes were old and tattered and his face, smeared with dirt; turning around, he saw his 'father' wearing fine, embroidered robes and expensive jewels, looking handsome and refined. There was a world of difference between these two men. Wan Yan Kang contemplated in his heart: "Am I actually going to give up this life of luxury and riches and roam the streets with this poor man? No, never!" His mind was made up.

"Shifu, don't listen to this person's nonsense," said Wan Yan Kang. "Please help to rescue my mother!"

"You still stubbornly refuse to listen, you're worse than a beast!" Qiu Chu Ji replied angrily.

Upon seeing that teacher and pupil had fallen out, Peng Lian Hu and the others started to attack even more fiercely. Wan Yan Kang knew Qiu Chu Ji was in danger, but did not attempt to stop the fight again. Qiu Chu Ji was enraged and shouted: "Little bastard, you really have no conscience."

Wan Yan Kang had always been very afraid of his Shifu and secretly hoped that Peng Lian Hu and the rest would kill him to avoid any trouble in the future. Shortly into the battle, Qiu Chu Ji was struck by Liang Zi Weng's spade and though it wasn't serious, blood had seeped through his robes. From the corner of his eye he caught a hint of delight in Wan Yan Kang's face and he was further incensed, swearing left right and centre.

Ma Yu retrieved a sparkler from his robes and tossed it in the air, sending a blue blaze soaring through the sky. Peng Lian Hu thought it must be a communicative signal for Quan Zhen Sect's members and alerted: "The old priest is sending for help."

After exchanging a few more moves, another blue blaze emerged from the Northwestern corner not far from here. "Younger Martial Brother Wang is nearby," said Qiu Chu Ji in delight. Switching his sword over to his left hand, he attacked from the top with his sword and from the bottom with his right palm, executing 7 or 8 fatal moves one after another and forced his enemies steadily backwards.

Ma Yu pointed to the blue glow in the Northwestern direction and said: "Go in that direction."

Weapons in hand, Yang Tie Xin and Mu Nian Ci rushed in that direction while guarding Bao Xi Ruo. Ma Yu followed closely behind. Qiu Chu Ji interrupted his sword mid-move and in the next instant he had also turned to leave. Sha Tong Tian repeatedly employed his "Shapeshift" [移步换形] technique, hoping to bypass Qiu Chu Ji and snatch Bao Xi Ruo over, but Qiu Chu Ji's sword was too swift and he did not succeed. It was not long before they arrived at the small inn where Wang Chu Yi was staying, and Qiu Chu Ji wondered to himself: "Why hasn't Younger Martial Brother Wang come out to greet us?"

Just after this thought, Wang Chu Yi came walking unsteadily towards them, supported by a wooden stick. At the sight of each other, all 3 Martial Brothers were shocked to see that Quan Zhen Sect's top 3 pugilists were all injured.

Qiu Chu Ji called out: "Retreat back into the inn."

"Hand the Consort over in one piece, and I'll spare your lives," Wan Yan Hong Lie hollered.

"Who needs your mercy, you treacherous Jin dog?" Qiu Chu Ji shot back. He raised his sword and started fighting.

Despite being exhausted, Qiu Chu Ji still refused to yield and his swordplay remained as enthralling as ever. Seeing this, Peng Lian Hu and the others were all secretly impressed. Yang Tie Xin contemplated: "Since things have already come to this, it will not be easy to escape our end. We mustn't implicate Priest Qiu's life for us husband and wife." Grasping Bao Xi Ruo's hand, he stepped forward.