Chapter 105: Enmity Hard to Sever

Feng Yi thought that in the original plot, Lu Wushuang escaped from Li Mochou's grasp only because she met Yang Guo; now, if Xiao Longnv had not been insulted, she probably wouldn't have run away, and if Yang Guo hadn't gone looking, he wouldn't have met Lu Wushuang.

This girl might be caught by Li Mochou and lose her life. If the Five Poisons Secret Transmission were given to me, I would surely spare my life.

But he overlooked that Lu Wushuang was a young maiden; under everyone's gaze, his act of grabbing her shoulder certainly made her flustered, grit her teeth, and want to lash out.

Moreover, the etiquette of this era was extremely strict—men and women should not be intimate; although martial artists are somewhat casual, such behavior in others' eyes is still extremely wanton, and given that Feng Yi's martial arts surpass Lu Wushuang's, it is naturally bullying the weak, instantly drawing dissatisfaction from some heroes present.

That is, the man dressed in Mongol attire.

Feng Yi glanced sideways; although only a moment, he clearly saw two wine cups being hurled violently at him.

At that moment the wine cups had not yet arrived, but the wine arrows had already splashed out; hearing two hissing sounds, this internal strength was truly extraordinary, causing Cheng Ying to secretly tremble with fear.

Feng Yi gave a cold snort; a sweep of sleeve wind passed, like a hurricane sweeping by, wine rain splashed everywhere, and the two wine cups rebounded, shooting back at the Mongol who had thrown them.

The Mongol woman was about to reach out to catch them when she suddenly heard a man shout, "Don't move!" He heard the wind howling, knowing the true power attached to the cups; if his sister touched them, she would suffer internal injury.

As he spoke, he waved both hands; his fingers brushed the rims of the wine cups, with a humming sound as if wood and stone struck, the two cups began to spin like windmills. But when the man's palm touched a cup, his whole body felt as if struck by electricity, he involuntarily stepped back, and the chair's back snapped at the waist.

The woman's heart jolted, and she cried out in alarm, "Second Brother, are you all right?"

She thought her second brother had hardly any rivals in the world; this scene was truly hard to believe.

The man shook his head and said softly, "I'm fine!" He then placed the two wine cups back on the table.

This technique was truly exquisite and unparalleled; Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang secretly admired it.

Feng Yi lightly rolled up his sleeve, turned around, and looked at the man; seeing he was no more than twenty years old, yet the strength with which he had just thrown the wine cups and the force he used to neutralize Feng Yi's cups were a direct transmission of the Quanzhen School, moreover containing an unexhausted yielding force that other Quanzhen masters lacked; he said calmly, "Who are you? Looking to pick a fight?"

The man let out a long breath, gave a wry smile, and said, "I am Yelü Qi of the Quanzhen Sect; you possess supreme skill yet bully a woman, which is truly unbecoming of your stature."

Feng Yi thought, "This lad is indeed Yelü Qi; no wonder he has such extraordinarily pure Quanzhen martial arts!"

Feng Yi had actually already guessed his identity; seeing his steady conduct and great dignity, he couldn't help thinking, "No wonder he won Guo Fu's affection, gained the approval of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, and married Guo Fu."

In Feng Yi's view, the most fortunate man in the Legend of the Condor Heroes is Yelü Qi.

Compared to the protagonist Yang Guo, this fellow is far better off.

When Yelü Chucai was in power, he stood beneath one person in Mongolia and above ten thousand, enjoying boundless wealth and honor, commanding wind and rain.

When he fell from power and his family was pursued by the Mongols, Yelü Qi immediately attached himself to Guo Fu, not only winning a beautiful bride but also becoming the chief of the world's greatest gang.

Although Yang Guo's martial arts are high and his achievements greater, his encounters have been too tragic.

Now that I have killed that Yelü Zhu, who should be Yelü Qi's brother, should I also kill him, to exterminate the root?

As Feng Yi pondered, he heard Lu Wushuang chuckle: "So you're this Mongol, also something of the Quanzhen Sect."

Yelü Qi smiled and said, "Not at all; I am indeed a Quanzhen disciple."

Seeing Yelü Qi speak up for her, Lu Wushuang was delighted, glanced at his head, and wondered aloud, "Eh! Aren't all Quanzhen members supposed to be Daoists?"

Yelü Qi laughed heartily and said, "Miss, you're mistaken; I am a lay disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, so I am not a Daoist."

As they talked, Cheng Ying saw Feng Yi lost in thought; she raised her delicate hand and lightly brushed toward the hand Feng Yi had placed on Lu Wushuang's shoulder.

But Feng Yi's martial arts were such that, hearing the movement, he reacted instinctively before even seeing who it was, slightly raising his palm to seize her wrist; Cheng Ying could not help but let out a soft grunt.

Feng Yi then came to his senses and hastily released his grip,

Taking advantage of Feng Yi's release of his grip on Cheng Ying, Lu Wushuang broke free, saw that Cheng Ying's jade-white wrist now bore several red marks, and angrily snapped, "You shameless! Do you only know how to bully women?"

Feng Yi ignored her and said to Cheng Ying, "Miss Cheng, the Five Poisons Secret Transmission is of utmost importance and must not be leaked. Moreover, if she gave it to me, Li Mochou would know I took it and might spare her life; otherwise, if she were caught, she would surely die."

Cheng Ying rubbed her aching wrist, stared at him, confirming her thoughts.

"What business is it of yours!" Lu Wushuang snapped, face flushed with anger: "Li Mochou killed my parents; between us, only one can live. Do I still fear death?" Tears welled in her eyes.

Feng Yi sighed inwardly, thinking: "This woman has become like this; it is all the fault of Li Mochou's wicked deeds!"

But this woman is also addle‑brained—having killed others' parents, she still keeps her daughter by her side; the reputation of this demoness is hardly deserved."

Feng Yi well knew that, had he been in that position, if he had killed someone's parents and did not exterminate the root, he would certainly keep his distance; he would never keep her nearby. Saying this, he lunged to grab Lu Wushuang, intending to search her forcibly.

Yelü Qi and his sister Yelü Yan had been watching from the side; Yelü Qi whispered, "Third Sister, hurry away—this person is formidable."

Yelü Yan replied, "And you?"

Yelü Qi said, "I have rescued the two ladies; I will flee at once." He then shouted, "Miss, make haste!"

With a swish, the long sword was drawn.

Yelü Qi, chivalrous at heart and aware of Li Mochou's infamous reputation, yet seeing Feng Yi thus putting the two ladies in a difficult spot, judged him not a good person. At this moment his sword light flashed, conjuring seven points of cold stars, and thrust toward Feng Yi's vital spots from behind.

Feng Yi, who had been about to seize Lu Wushuang, felt a slight tremor in his heart: "This lad is indeed formidable!" He remained still, drifting aside three feet.

Yelü Qi did not wait for his move to grow old; he flipped his wrist, changing a straight thrust into a horizontal cut—the speed of the change, the strength of his wrist, and the oddity of the technique earned everyone's admiration.

Feng Yi thought, "Among young people, even Yang Guo at this time could not match him!"

His figure flickered, and he dodged Yelü Qi's sword again, reaching for Lu Wushuang, only to see Cheng Ying flash aside to shield Lu Wushuang behind her.

Feng Yi could not help but chuckle: "Interesting—are you two teaming up to beat the villain?"

Yelü Qi, intending to make him realize the difficulty and retreat, was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean?"

Feng Yi smiled and said, "Do you know who I am?"

Yelü Qi felt puzzled; seeing his smile like a spring breeze, his eyes like stars, he glanced at Cheng Ying and said, "I heard this lady say that your surname is Feng."

Feng Yi smiled and said, "I am Feng Yi; have you heard of me?"

A flush rose on Yelü Qi's face, his eyes glinting like a blade's edge, and he said in a hoarse voice, "So it's you."

Yelü Yan also shouted loudly, "Feng Yi, did you kill my elder brother Yelü Zhu?"

Feng Yi saw her snow‑white oval face and tall, slender figure, and couldn't help thinking inwardly, "What a lovely beauty; she surely possesses great martial fortune!"

He also didn't know who those two were who had married this woman, and simply said, "Of course it is!"

"You wretch!" Yelü Yan's face flushed red, she shouted harshly, "Where is his corpse?"

Feng Yi said lightly, "I only kill; as for the corpse, how would I know?"

Yelü Yan trembled with rage, pointing a hand at Feng Yi: "Dog thief, don't be so smug—your death is not far off!"

Feng Yi laughed and said, "Miss, you flatter me!"

Speaking, he swept his gaze around: "Our Han people have died under the blades of the Khitan and Mongols—how could it be less than tens of millions?"

"You two, as soon as you entered the inn, were treated better than others just because you wore Mongol clothing. I merely killed a few Mongol officials—what's there to be proud of?"

Yelü Qi's anger flared, impossible to suppress, he shouted: "Surname Feng, in the conflict between our two nations, the benevolent see benevolence, the wise see wisdom, but the grudge of killing one's brother must not go unavenged!"

"Good!" Feng Yi nodded: "You speak frankly!"

Feng Yi chuckled and said: "Yelü Qi, seeing that you just acted bravely for justice, you're a true man, so I'll let you off this time. If you don't know when to advance or retreat and insist on revenge, even if I risk infamy, I will still kill you!"

Yelü Qi slowly said: "Since we have met today, I cannot avoid this! Yelü Qi requests to learn your high techniques!"

With his left hand forming a sword finger, left foot stepping out, he launched a "Stabilizing Yang Needle" diagonally stabbing at Feng Yi's wrist and throat—this is the orthodox Quanzhen sword method.

This move is complete in spirit and full of qi, steady and heavy; its strength, technique, form, and power are all just right. It appears ordinary, but to practice it to such a flawless degree, even someone of slightly lesser talent would not necessarily succeed after a lifetime of effort.

Yet Feng Yi remained motionless, calmly saying, "Fine swordsmanship!" He turned his wrist and flicked his fingers, actually producing a clear metallic ringing.

The long sword gave a hum; Yelü Qi felt a surge of internal energy rush toward him, the sword seeming to come alive, impossible to hold, it flew from his hand.

Though defeated, Yelü Qi did not panic; he thrust out his left palm with a shout, and his right hand moved to seize Feng Yi's chest.

Feng Yi praised, "Good!" He deflected the grasping hand with his left, thrust out his right palm; the two forces met, causing the dishes and bowls on the table to jump up, clinking and clattering in a pleasant din.

Yelü Qi staggered sideways back, bumping into an Eight Immortals square table with a clatter, scattering tofu-like pieces everywhere. Seeing her brother overmatched, Yelü Yan leapt up more than a zhang with a swish, thrusting her sword at Feng Yi, who calmly said, "Wanting revenge? With just the two of you, you'll only be throwing away your lives!" He sidestepped to let her pass.

Without hesitation, Yelü Yan thrust her right palm out, striking at Feng Yi's chest; Feng Yi flicked his right sleeve, causing Yelü Yan to spin and crash into Yelü Qi.

Just as Yelü Qi pushed his sister aside, Feng Yi stepped forward, his palm swooshing down toward Yelü Qi's crown; the wind of this palm already enveloped him.

Yelü Qi, after all, is a master of extraordinary lineage; though death was imminent, he did not resign himself, hastily raising both palms to block, trying to seal Feng Yi's palm force.

"Bang!"

Although he managed to block the palm, a red flush rose on Yelü Qi's face as the force directly pressed him to his knees; with a crack, a clear fissure appeared in the floorboards.

Feng Yi's expression remained cold as he said, "Whether you act heroic before me or seek revenge, I welcome it—but if your skill is lacking, then only death awaits!"

Saying this, he lifted his left foot, about to kick his chest.

"Stop!"

Suddenly hearing Cheng Ying give a sharp whistle, she, Lu Wushuang, and Yelü Yan lunged forward together! Seeing that Yelü Qi was a youthful hero, the two Cheng and Lu girls, who had drawn Feng Yi's wrath for his sake, wanted to rush forward to help, but their martial arts were far too inferior; at this moment, upon hearing Feng Yi's tone, Cheng Ying realized he truly intended to kill, and hurried to intervene.

Feng Yi casually waved his hand, and a gust of force pushed the three apart.

Yelü Qi seized the moment to push upward, hastily performed a lazy donkey roll, rolling as far as he could over a zhang away, then leapt to his feet,

He saw Cheng Ying standing in front of Lu Wushuang and Yelü Yan, locking eyes with Feng Yi, her gaze full of pleading.

Feng Yi said indifferently, "You want me dead, so why are you helping me?"

Cheng Ying replied angrily, "When have I ever wished you dead!"

Feng Yi said, "Don't you know? Before I opened my killing spree, I deliberately sent a blade and a letter: anyone serving as a Mongol official deserves death! I killed their elder brothers; henceforth, if I meet their fathers, they too must die!"

"When you once brought me news, it was because you didn't want me dead; today you help them—doesn't that mean you want me dead?"

Saying this, Cheng Ying's eyes suddenly grew hot; she shook her head and said, "Back then I still didn't know what kind of person you were."

Feng Yi said, "Anyone who sells their life to the Mongols, I will kill."

Cheng Ying said, "But he's a good person, a hero and outstanding warrior!"

A faint sorrow welled up in Feng Yi's heart, for he knew he was neither a good person nor a hero; he gave a wry smile and said, "He certainly is a good person, certainly a hero, but as long as they serve the Mongols, the greater their heroism, the greater the danger they pose to us! Take his father Yelü Chucai, who devised strategies for Genghis Khan and Ögedei, conquering cities, seizing lands, pacifying the rear; to the Mongols he is a great hero, a great warrior, but what of us Han people?"

"Yelü Qi today wants to kill me to avenge his brother—how could I possibly let him live?"

Everyone hearing this fell silent for a moment; suddenly from the south came a tinkling, "ding-ling, ding-ling."

The bell's sound flowed lightly and smoothly, rising and falling pleasantly to the ear.

Lu Wushuang, however, panicked greatly; she knew this was the bell on her master Li Mochou's flower donkey, and thought desperately, "Oh no, oh no. I've unluckily run into this dead person—how can I escape my master's poisonous clutches?"

Cheng Ying also urged anxiously, "Li Mochou has arrived—hurry, let go!" She grabbed Lu Wushuang's hand.

The two girls were terrified, about to dash out, when suddenly their wrists tightened—both were seized by Feng Yi.

Lu Wushuang shouted, "What are you doing?"

Feng Yi said, "If you want to live, shut your mouth!"

He directly tucked both girls under his arms.

The two girls, taken off guard, felt a rush of masculine scent engulf them, their bodies going limp; Lu Wushuang burst into curses, while Cheng Ying could not utter a word.

Feng Yi turned his gaze to Yelü Qi and said, "Yelü Qi, today for Miss Cheng's sake I'll let you off."

"If you next think of revenge and can't beat me, you will die!" He shot past the window like a swallow; Yelü Qi and Yelü Yan only felt a blur before their eyes, and when they looked again, the room was empty.

Witnessing this divine technique, Yelü Qi was shocked to the core; he never imagined that his years of painstaking martial training could be so feeble.

He somewhat understood that, relying solely on Feng Yi's ghostlike agility just displayed, if he went all out, even ten lives would not suffice, let alone exchanging blows with him.

For a moment his feelings surged—he sensed Feng Yi's mercy, yet also felt ashamed of his own inadequacy; after all, Feng Yi appeared several years younger than him.

He had received the true transmission of the Quanzhen Sect elder Zhou Botong, always considering himself extraordinary; but today, encountering Feng Yi—who is several years younger and whose martial arts are ten times his—shattered his fearless confidence, leaving him bewildered and unsure what to do.

Seeing her brother listless and dejected, Yelü Yan's own face fell, and she said sorrowfully, "Second brother, can we still avenge our elder brother?"

Yelü Qi sighed, "Even if I train another thirty years, perhaps a lifetime, I still couldn't defeat him."

Yelü Yan's face turned deathly pale.

Seeing the sorrowful, despairing look in his sister's eyes, Yelü Qi gently said, "Third sister, do you still remember that Wanyan maiden?"

Yelü Yan nodded.

Yelü Qi said, "She is a Jin national; to avenge her parents, she has always wanted to kill her father, because her father served as a Mongol minister, aiding the Mongols in destroying the Jin state, which caused her parents' deaths."

"And our own ancestors were destroyed by the Jin. My Yelü lineage's descendants were slaughtered by the Wanyan clan; my father, even in his youth, vowed revenge, which led him to assist the Great Khan of the Mongols in conquering the Jin."

"Who would have thought that after the Jin fell, the Mongols would turn on the Song? As a Han, Feng Yi seeks to kill Mongol officials, yet we must kill him—alas, hatred begets hatred; when will this cycle ever end?"

As he spoke the final sentences, he lifted his gaze to the window, recalling his father's oft-repeated words: for the sake of a few surnames vying for the throne, countless cities lie in ruins, mountains and rivers for miles piled with corpses, blood flowing like driftwood. Worldly grudges are so hard to sever—when will they cease? He could not help but feel deep sorrow, letting out a long sigh.

"'Ladies, have you seen a white-clad lame maiden?' a gentle female voice sounded at just the right moment."

The Yelü siblings followed the sound and saw, to their surprise, a beautiful Daoist nun dressed in a green robe.

Yelü Qi had not yet spoken when Yelü Yan hurriedly said, "I saw it—she was just abducted by a man."

A green shadow flashed at the doorway, and the Daoist nun had already vanished.

Yelü Qi sighed, "This woman is truly formidable! The Central Plains indeed produce outstanding talents; I had previously underestimated the heroes of the world!"

Yelü Yan likewise felt the same.

She thought her brother was nearly invincible under heaven; after learning a few moves from him, she felt quite impressive. But only today did she realize that the path of martial arts still had a long way to go!

……

As soon as Feng Yi stepped out of the house, he tapped his feet and leapt onto the roof, like a shooting star streaking across.

Snowflakes fell silently like a mat, and a bright moon illuminated the snowy ground as if it were daytime.

The two women were pinned under his arms, unable to move an inch. Lu Wushuang never imagined there could be such an overbearing person in the world; her heart filled with hatred, she thought that after surviving this calamity she would repay him double.

Cheng Ying felt the waves of heat emanating from Feng Yi's body, and unbidden a romantic thought arose: "Under the gaze of many, he listens to my words and treats me with such affection—he naturally already regards me as kin."

Between a man and a woman, the closest relationship is naturally that of husband and wife; he has always wanted to see my appearance, and surely he has developed affection for me in his heart—yet why do I feel nothing at all? Could it be that I am truly so dull that I cannot master my master's martial arts!

A feeling of shy joy rose in her heart.

In fact, most matters between men and women are decided under the influence of chance circumstances and subtle effects.

Cheng Ying, this sensitive and steady woman, is exactly like that.

But Feng Yi had no idea of her unusual thoughts.

His plan was simply to take the two women to a place where Li Mochou could not temporarily find them, seize the Five Poisons Secret Transmission, and prevent them from falling into Li Mochou's poisonous hands.

Anyway, he would not help the two women kill Li Mochou, nor would he let Li Mochou harm them—that was his idea.

As for his slight curiosity about Cheng Ying and the camaraderie of delivering a message, it was fulfilled when she pleaded with Yelü Qi on his behalf.

The woman Feng Yi desires is one who can hand him a knife while he kills, not someone who opposes him! Especially Cheng Ying's remark, "He is a good person, he is a hero and outstanding talent."

Feng Yi felt a twinge of jealousy, because he himself is not a good person, nor a hero and outstanding talent.

For such people value openness and righteousness, whereas his current conduct is purely sneak attacks, having nothing in common with heroes and outstanding talents.

Fortunately he also realized that Cheng Ying is clearly not the woman who could stir his soul.

To sever all past ties, to utterly slay his former wicked thoughts—today would be worth it.

(End of chapter)