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The man with the long beard’s soul flew away in fright as he tried to lower the spear and retreat. Shaken, he desperately retreated only about a zhang away when a blood mark appeared on his chest, and he fell onto the snow facing upward.

Yuwen Huaji roared in grief. He pounced towards Kou Zhong, shouting “I’ll take your life for his!”

Hearing that, the swordsman who attacked together with the man with long beard who died – who was just being shaken away by the saber in Kou Zhong’s hand – changed direction to assist his numerous companions besieging Xu Ziling.

‘Peng! Peng!’

With two sharp noises, unable to withstand the Treasure Vase Image’s highly concentrated and thick qi power, the two enemies’ hook and saber were swept away, their bodies collapsed as their eyes, ears, nose and mouth simultaneously oozed blood.

Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong had interlinked minds, they both had a clear understanding of the current situation. There was no leeway to hold back, they had to use ten- thousand-jun thunderous shocking force. They must, by all means, in these several face-to-face encounters, clear away the martial arts masters, Yuwen Huaji’s personal bodyguards, to take advantage while the enemy’s mind was in chaos to make their move with all their strength. Otherwise, if they let the opposite side steady their footings, victory or defeat would be difficult to predict.

The swordsman coming to help prolonged his companions’ time of defeat, due to Xu Ziling was forced to let the opportunity to follow up the victory and press home the attack to slip by, since he had to handle him first.

With single somersault, Xu Ziling’s foot glided on the snow, with another whirling spin, he avoided the enemy sword by mere fraction of a hairsbreadth, as he came to the enemy left side, where the sword could not reach, bumping his elbow across the enemy’s rib.

The saber wielder and the hook wielder attacked again, while the sword wielder unexpectedly shot heavenward; not only did he avoid the elbow strike, the long sword also came back swiftly from above to pierce Xu Ziling as well. He was definitely worthy to be a martial arts master, one of Yuwen Huaji’s personal bodyguards.

Xu Ziling secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Image, in that instant he already grasped the timing, speed, and position at which the enemy’s weapon would reach his body, the timing and movement of the enemy’s position, and launched a punch upwards, shocking the enemy sword head-on.

※ ※ ※

Over yonder Kou Zhong was caught in a bad situation where he could only take a beating; not because Yuwen Huaji’s martial arts was more brilliant than his, but because breaking the axe and shattering the shield, as well as killing the long bearded man – one after another consumed a great amount of his true energy, and he had still yet to recover, while Yuwen Huaji, whose vicious nature was aroused due to the death of his subordinate, attacked wildly and struck violently. Momentarily he could only rely on his exquisite saber technique to hold on, waiting for Yuwen Huaji’s lofty spirit to diminish, before waiting for an opportunity to strike back.

Kou Zhong entered the realm of Moon in the Well martial art way, where the raging battlefield would never dissolve the ice and snow, that no matter how treacherous the situation, he would advance with dead mind, that he would still deal and defuse the crisis with ice-cold, calm state of mind.

Yuwen Huaji wished that he could, with one move, cause great suffering for Kou Zhong and destroy him. Therefore, every move was spent with full force, watching for any of Kou Zhong’s weak point, forcing him to continuously resist with all his strength, making sure that Kou Zhong would not have the opportunity to recover his qi. Regardless of how Kou Zhong flashed and leaped to evade, he would advance in close combat, or sending his power across empty air, denying Kou Zhong for any chance to take a breather.

Kou Zhong, however, remained calm in the face of adversity; he fought and retreated, while moving away from the other two battlefields, that is, the side on the public square by the main palace hall. His essence, qi, and spirit were fully concentrated in every single saber strike; with all his heart and soul and spirit he dealt with his mortal enemy’s startling-the-billows-astonishing-the-waves style of offensives. His deflecting-qi-borrowing-force technique was completely ineffective against the Mysterious Black Ice Energy, simply because if he let the Black Ice Energy enter his meridians, it would absolutely be harmful without any benefit.

The battle between both sides increased in ferocity. There was not even a tiny moment in the gap between their actions; they were countering each other’s moves, using speed to fight speed, dangerous, fierce and severe to the extreme point.

In just the amount of time to sip a cup of hot tea, the saber and palms already clashed for nearly thirty moves. The Moon in the Well suddenly hacked towards the empty space by Yuwen Huaji’s left flank; it was precisely the ‘Chess Abundant’ of Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well Eight Great Wonder Moves.

Yuwen Huaji was a veteran of a hundred battles, he was accustomed to viewing and comprehending the situations, but there was an incomparably strange feeling that started to bubble up in his heart.

Though Kou Zhong’s saber had the effect of confusing the enemy’s reaction, he was able to see through the empty tricks. However, Kou Zhong’s single saber hack downwards unexpectedly produced a swirling vortex and force field that enveloped him. He was pinned down and unable to ignore this blow. It resembled a majestic whirlpool from the oceans, where all the fish outside of the whirlpool were drawn in. Yuwen Huaji was experienced and knowledgeable, still, it was the first time he came upon such a fantastic and terrifying saber technique. Involuntarily he moved sideways where the saber momentum reached the end of its range, his offensive finally slowed down a sliver.

It could be said that this single saber strike was forced out. That day when he faced Ning Daoqi, this move was easily broken simply by the opponent raising his hand, which, after the fact, made Kou Zhong feel unsatisfied, and thus he thought hard to figure out how to combine it with the spiraling energy.

Until now, the move ‘Chess Abundant’ was starting to produce great success, letting him to strive for the opportunity to turn defeat into victory.

‘Huh?’ a soft cry came from somewhere on the side. Kou Zhong did not need to see to know that Fu Junqiang was watching the fight from her hiding place, seeing his move deeply embodied the spirit and marrow of the ‘Yijian Technique’, she blurted out a gasp of surprise.

This moment he did not have time to think too much, otherwise the opportunity would be gone in a flash. Hastily he evaded backward, the Moon in the Well pointed at Yuwen Huaji from a distance, changes were happening everywhere, from ‘Chess Abundant’ to ‘No Attack’.

For the first time Yuwen Huaji felt the chill, sensing that although Kou Zhong kept pulling away from him, but unexpectedly the saber qi and the saber momentum controlling him from a distant were continuously getting stronger, which completely did not make any sense.

Not being able to get away, Yuwen Huaji let out a violent shout and soared high into the air, and then shot out two streams of Mysterious Ice Energy from the air, attacking the top of Kou Zhong’s head and his face.

Kou Zhong’s heart was without fear without joy; his saber chopped down, it cut right in the middle of the two streams of fist power, carrying another burst of vortex of true qi. Unexpectedly it met the two streams of fist power head on and dissolved and neutralized it, producing a violent explosive noise of qi power colliding against each other; exquisite, mysterious, and strange.

‘Bang!’

Borrowing the momentum, Kou Zhong floated from the back door into the main hall. With a backward flip he leaped onto the platform steps at the northern end of the main hall. The spot that his foot landed on was precisely Yuwen Huaji’s dragon seat facing the main hall.

※ ※ ※

The saber blade sliced down just a hairsbreadth in front of the tip of his nose.

Hou Xibai opened his folding fan. It flashed toward the opponent’s face first to confuse his eyes, but his attack was actually a kick from below, which hit the enemy’s genitalia. But at the same time he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder blade; he was stabbed from behind by another enemy’s long sword.

Hou Xibai deflected the enemy’s sword, so that the opponent could not injure his muscles and bones. In the meantime, the enemy in front of him was thrown back from his kick, along with shaking-to-the-core miserable scream before his death.

Although Hou Xibai paid the price, the wound on his shoulder blade was no less than a cun, and his blood splattered everywhere, but his heart calmed down instead.

If the four martial art masters besieging him was fighting one-on-one, none of them was even one-tenth of his level; however, since they were accustomed to fighting together, the combined power far surpassed the sum of four men’s individual power. He was nearly unable to resist their attack.

Lucky for him that Hua Jian Pai’s consummate skills more and more emerged; on top of that, he had built up his skill through painstaking effort to master the Immortal Image, one of the most formidable skills of the demonic school, so eventually he was successful to eliminate one of the enemies.

Hou Xibai used the listening-to-the-wind-to-determine-the-position skill, he spun and swept to the left; from open, the Fan of Beauty closed up again, as if he was moving it casually, yet it accurately, beyond human comprehension – swept the tip of the lance. The Immortal Image absorbed the enemy’s power first, and then in an instant it burst back, shocking the lance wielder and sending him stumbling to the side.

Hou Xibai laughed aloud, unleashing the Fan of Beauty Technique, he attacked the three enemies, whose hearts already turned cold, whose guts split open – that they were routed and had no more power to retaliate.

※ ※ ※

‘Ding!

The long sword broke into cun­-sized pieces.

Completely outside the sword wielder’s expectation, the long sword was sent at full power to stab Xu Ziling’s tian ling acupoint; but instead of meeting Xu Ziling’s world-famous bare hand, it actually encountered a pair of short arm protectors shooting out from inside his sleeves.

This move took Xiuli Qiankun [universe in the sleeves], the unique skill ranked among the wonderful skills and supreme arts with which Du Fuwei made his name – up a notch.

The end of the arm protector stuck to the sword’s blade, it completely dissolved the true qi concentrated inside the opponent’s sword. And then fast as lightning the arm protector on the other hand swept across the sword’s blade, shattering the enemy’s sword, which was already without any true qi to protect it – to pieces.

The enemy’s soul flew away and scattered, he was carried away by another stream of force that Xu Ziling was sending out, and was thrown high into the air. He was lucky that Xu Ziling was being lenient; otherwise all would be lost and he could not protect his little life.

After rending a meritorious service, Xu Ziling’s arm protectors returned to his sleeves. Using the Inner and Outer Lion Images he dealt with the hook wielder and the saber wielder, two major martial art masters’ howling-wind-and-torrential-rain-like attacks coming from his left and right.

These two were martial art masters, Yuwen Huaji’s personal guards whose martial art skill was higher than the others’, barely under the man with the long beard, who was killed by Kou Zhong. But to defeat Xu Ziling, they still did not have enough qualifications; he blocked the attacks one by one. He was waiting for their acute spirit to pass, and then he would immediately control the enemy and score the victory.

※ ※ ※

Kou Zhong moved within the narrow space of the dragon throne, he parried Yuwen Huaji’s all-out fierce and severe offensives without yielding a single step. Letting out a long laughter, he said, “This dragon throne looks a bit familiar; is this the one Old Yang sat on in Jiangdu before he was killed?”

Yuwen Huaji let out a cold snort, but did not answer him, while in the bottom of his heart he cried that the turn of events was not too encouraging; he took this opportunity to catch his breath, immediately his power increased substantially, as if he suddenly became another person.

‘Shua! Shua!’ Kou Zhong hacked three times in succession, each saber strike was wonderful to the extreme, once again he forced Yuwen Huaji to back off. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, “Huagu, why are you so unwise like this? This is an inauspicious object, unexpectedly you took it through a thousand li road from Jiangdu to here, making you stepping on the Old Yang’s trailing dust. Too stupid!”

‘Bang!’

Suddenly he sent out a punch to meet Yuwen Huaji’s fist. The two, without any fancy or fake move, exchanged a blow head-on. The Mysterious Ice Energy was forced by Kou Zhong’s spiraling true energy to splash in four directions, momentarily qi power filled the air.

Kou Zhong was shocked by Yuwen Huaji that he staggered backward, as if he was going to fall down from the dragon throne. Yuwen Huaji was greatly delighted; lowering his body, he stretched out his hand in a claw toward Kou Zhong’s genitalia.

Kou Zhong laughed aloud. He sent his true power from the soles of his feet, all four legs of the dragon throne snapped. The Moon in the Well’s yellow light burst forth, it swiftly picked and raised Yuwen Huaji’s treacherous and murderous claw.

Yuwen Huaji had never thought that not only Kou Zhong was able to meet the power of his Mysterious Ice Energy, which he had accumulated for forty years – head on, but was also able to execute the luring-the-enemy tactic without him able to see it. Now that the height difference between the two combatants has changed, it became as if he was sending his hand toward the opponent’s saber blade. Overwhelmed with shock, he hurriedly retreated.

The lightning inside Kou Zhong’s pair of eyes fiercely flashing, he roared and turned the Moon in the Well into a long rainbow, the person and the saber became one, he unleashed the ‘Striking Strange’ from the Eight Methods of the Well. The guest acting as the host [i.e. turning the table around], he attacked Yuwen Huaji.

Yuwen Huaji was just retreating down the steps of the dragon throne, he suddenly felt that he was completely shrouded by Kou Zhong’s saber qi; unable to dodge, he had no choice but to block with all his strength.

‘Boom!’

Yuwen Huaji met the saber and staggered down the platform steps. At the same time, blood was seeping out of the corner of both men’s mouth. The battle was that desperate.

Seeing Yuwen Huaji was retreating to the middle of the palace hall, Kou Zhong stood at the very top of the platform steps. The Moon in the Well pointed at the enemy from a distance, while with the other hand he wiped the bloodstain on the corner of his mouth, how could he not sigh with sorrow in his heart? Thinking that in the past he was just a kid who did not even fit to carry Yuwen Huaji’s shoes, but today he became the person directly causing Yuwen Huaji’s defeat and fall. The twists and turns of the process, and the many changes within it, were difficult for even he himself to describe one by one.

Yuwen Huaji finally retreated to the middle of the hall, about forty paces away from Kou Zhong. But Kou Zhong’s saber qi was still faintly locking him tightly. Such inner power and saber technique, it has already reached the shocking level; a feeling of despair welled up in his heart, realizing that his own acute spirit has been exhausted, his will has been snatched away, plus he had suffered internal injury. Although he still had enough power to continue fighting, he certainly had no hope of victory.

Heaving a deep sigh, he said, “It’s finished! It’s finished! I never thought that I, Yuwen Huaji, have become a hero of this generation, yet in the end unexpectedly I am defeated under two rascals’ hands.”

Raising his palm, he slapped his own tianling acupoint.

How could Kou Zhong think that he still had this one move? Shocked, he pulled his saber back and rushed toward the archenemy; even he himself did not know what he could do.

Yuwen Huaji let out a long laugh. Breaking away from Kou Zhong’s saber qi, he soared into the air, broke the palace hall’s roof, and flew across the sky.

With a tender shout, Fu Junqiang, who had been hiding on the side, soared into the air to intercept. The two brushed past each other in the air. Fu Junqiang was jolted by his Mysterious Ice Energy that she fell from the air. Yuwen Huaji’s left arm was stabbed by her treasured sword head-on. Injury on top on injuries, he flew in the direction of the rear palace [generic term referring to the chambers of imperial concubines].

By the time Kou Zhong reached the top of the main palace, he saw Hou Xibai was still being entangled by the enemies, but Xu Ziling already succeeded in knocking down the enemy; hastily he called out, “Xiao Ling, come quickly!”

Taking the lead, he chased after Yuwen Huaji, who had run away far ahead.

The two boys leaped down from the roof and came to a moon gate located at the courtyard of the rear palace; the two were puzzled. They did not understand why Yuwen Huaji, after managing to run away this far, he actually only hid in this courtyard of the rear palace.

Entering the moon gate, they came to a small flower garden. The snowflakes were still swirling in the air, so that the garden became a picture of snow-white peace and harmony, making it impossible to associate the scenery before their eyes with the reeking-of-blood violence outside.

All three of the doors into the multi-story building were wide open, and it was brightly lit. Although they could not grasp the mystery inside the building, the two’s martial art skill was unrivalled, plus they were driven by the flame of hatred, naturally they did not care much about anything, and entered in side by side.

More than a dozen palace maids and eunuchs crumpled onto the ground, cowering into a corner, their countenance lost the color of the blood.

Xu Ziling could not bear to see this; he spoke softly, “This does not concern you, we are definitely not going to harm you; just go!”

Finished speaking, he ran after Kou Zhong, straight into the inner hall.

Yuwen Huaji, his face deathly pale, sat with blank expression on a chair by the west window, his arms were embracing tightly a woman in beautiful imperial concubine attire, who was leaning against him. There was no one else in the room.

The two looked at each other in dismay; they never thought that they would witness such a scene.

Yuwen Huaji, his heroic spirit already broken, was like another person; his entire mind was focused on the woman in his embrace, as if he was completely oblivious that the mortal enemy was already at his door.

Shaking the Moon in the Well in his hand, Kou Zhong shouted, “If you are a man, stand up and fight. We, two brothers, guarantee that we won’t hurt the innocents.”

Yuwen Huaji revealed a bitter smile.

He moved his hand to the woman’s fragrant shoulders, as if he was going to push her away. The woman stood up slowly and turned her tender body around to face the two boys, her body was covered in the blood trickling down from Yuwen Huaji’s arms.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s tiger-body shook severely; they blurted out together, “Zhen Sao!”

Unexpectedly, it was Sister-in-law Zhen from Yangzhou in the past, who, from time to time, gave them vegetable and meat steamed buns out of the kindness of her heart to the two boys, the concubine of Old Feng, who opened up a food stall at the southern gate, selling steamed stuff buns. When the Emperor Yang entered the city, he conscripted Old Feng into the Palace. And then later on Old Feng was executed for offending Emperor Yang, and they lost Sister-in-law Zhen’s trace.

Who could have thought that today she was the beloved imperial concubine whom even when he was facing death, Yuwen Huaji did not forget to see?

Wearing magnificent clothes, Sister-in-law Zhen appeared even more elegant, her manners grandeur, her jade countenance was exceptionally tranquil, as she spoke softly, “Xiao Ling, Xiao Zhong, you have finally come!”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s scalp went numb. They completely lost their mind.

In their lives, the three women closely related to them the most were Sister-in-law Zhen, Fu Junchuo, and Susu. The last two have both died [orig. fragrance disappeared, jade perished], while unexpectedly Sister-in-law Zhen has become the imperial concubine of Yuwen Huaji, their archenemy, whom they really wish they could eat his flesh and sauté his skin. What should they do?

Suddenly they heard the sound of wind. Horrified, the two turned around to look, Fu Junqiang finally arrived. With fury on her pretty face, she raised her sword, her eyes fell on Yuwen Huaji, who was still sitting on the chair, half of his body blood-soaked; she asked in surprise, “Why don’t the two of you take his dog’s life?”

They did not know how to respond; her question made them dumbstruck and unable to reply.

In the past, no matter what situation the two encountered, they always had a way to deal with it. Only the tight knot before their eyes made them unable to even lay a single gambling chip on the table.

“Wei Furen,” arriving behind Fu Junqiang, Hou Xibai blurted out to call her.

His call was like an iron hammer striking into the bottom of the two boys’ heart. Turned out Sister-in-law Zhen was Yuwen Huaji’s most beloved Madame Wei. Yuwen Huaji even especially invited Hou Xibai to make a portrait of her, so that her flowery countenance would forever remain on the silk painting. The meaning behind it was the haunting feeling of unchanging in death, inseparable in love, always lingering together.

Fu Junqiang stopped behind the two boys. She looked back to cast a glance toward Hou Xibai first, before looking Sister-in-law Zhen up and down as if it was the first time that she saw her.

Yuwen Huaji, who looked like he suddenly aged more than ten years, got up from the chair. His right hand gently pressed Sister-in-law Zhen’s fragrant shoulder, he spoke with deep emotion, “One person did it, one person accept the consequences. Ay! I should not have come back to see you.”

And then he turned to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling and spoke coldly, “This is a matter between us, let’s settle it outside.”

The sound of battle drums reemerged; this time it did not come from a certain place, but was concentrated on the northern part of the city, and it was constantly coming near.

Sister-in-law Zhen shook her head resolutely. Opening up her pair of slender hands, she calmly shook her head and said, “No, if you die, I also want to die together with Huangshang [Your Majesty the emperor]. Xiao Zhong, Xiao Ling, can you help us accomplish this wish?”

Speaking with this kind tone was even more shocking and made the hearers feel even sadder than any cry-to-heaven-and-scramble-the-earth voice, not to mention Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already had sublime respect and full-of-gratitude feeling toward her.

Fu Junqiang finally realized that the two boys had greatly unusual relationship with this imperial concubine of Yuwen Huaji’s. Her jade countenance sank, she asked nonchalantly, “Who is she?”

The sound of battle drums was continuously approaching, pressing down on people’s heart and making their mind jittery. It was coming with certainty, symbolizing the fate of the Great Wei Kingdom, which was coming to its end.

Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong replied, “She could be considered our other Niang.”

Xu Ziling nodded his head dejectedly. Suddenly he no longer had any intention to take revenge and wipe out a grudge toward Yuwen Huaji. This once rebuking-the-Heaven-and-the-Earth figure [fig. all powerful], who was single-handedly responsible for destroying the Great Sui – was no different from a lot of people. Within his ferocious and ruthless image, unexpectedly he had a tender and affectionate side. Only because he and Kou Zhong had never been in contact with him that they never knew this side of Yuwen Huaji.

Now that he already suffered family bankrupt and the people perish, people rebelling and friends deserting, the end of his life was so tragic, how could they, at this time, still want to confront him with mortal danger in Sister-in-law Zhen’s presence?

Fu Junqiang spoke coldly, “Since you cannot do it, let me help them accomplish their wish.”

Sword light flashed swiftly, it passed through the space between the two boys, and shot toward Yuwen Huaji’s, who was standing behind Sister-in-law Zhen – face.