Chapter 154: Unexpected Twists

Feng Yi walked and pondered, hearing from passersby's scattered remarks that the Mongol army was fiercely attacking Xiangyang, so countless martial artists rushed nonstop to help.

Feng Yi sighed inwardly, the Great Song never lacked brave souls willing to sacrifice, yet why could it not defeat the Mongols?

But he ultimately wasn't a national talent with broad vision; although he had some superficial understanding of the Song's fall, he also knew that even trying to change the corrupt policies he knew of was beyond his ability.

Because this isn't solved by a mere lip service; it requires great talent and time to strive.

But talent and time are precisely what the Great Song lacks most.

That day, Feng Yi walked until sunset, sat on a stone by the road, took out a pot of water and wine, took a sip, lay down, stretched his legs, and enjoyed the lingering glow of the setting sun.

Soon after, a soft, charming giggle came from the road; Feng Yi opened his eyes and saw three fine horses approaching, ridden by one man and two women.

One woman dressed in black, very beautiful, was none other than Wanyan Ping, who had once assassinated Yelü Chucai.

The remaining man and woman were actually Yelü Qi and his sister; Feng Yi thought to himself, 'Indeed, even deep hatred can be forgotten,' and he took another drink.

As they chatted and laughed, they also saw not far away a person lying sideways on a hillock, holding a gourd and drinking; in the slanting sunlight, it made a fine picture of a forlorn martial youth.

The three felt their situation was similar, each feeling inclined to make friends; they immediately dismounted and ran over, but when Feng Yi turned his head, all three were both startled and embarrassed.

Feng Yi had killed Yelü Qi's elder brother, Yelü Zhu; such an inimitable enemy—how could they not be startled?

Wanyan Ping had been intimate with Yang Guo, but Feng Yi saw it all; now, chatting and laughing with Yelü Qi, she inevitably felt a bit embarrassed.

Yelü Qi was the first to regain his composure, clasping his hands and saying, 'Indeed, where in life do we not meet? How have you been, Sir Feng?'

Seeing his composed demeanor, as if he were not facing the killer of his brother, Feng Yi replied calmly, 'Thanks for your concern, but since our parting, you all seem to be doing quite well!'

Yelü Qi let out a long sigh, suddenly his face showed gloom, and he said lightly, 'Sir Feng, you jest; whether we are pleased or not is hard to say. But once the heart's ailment is gone, it also brings relief.'

Feng Yi turned his gaze to Wanyan Ping and smiled, 'That is also true.'

Yelü Yan regarded Wanyan Ping as her sister-in-law, yet she had always sought to avenge her father's death; now, chatting and laughing with the Yelü siblings, her heart's ailment naturally vanished.

Yelü Qi clasped his hands and said, 'We shall take our leave first.'

He had not dealt much with Feng Yi, but he knew this man was extremely obstinate, killing without distinguishing good from evil, only looking at allegiance; thus he wanted to leave.

'Wait!' Feng Yi rose with a smile and said, 'You say that in life we meet everywhere, but I believe it's not that enemies don't meet; I killed your elder brother, and I also intend to kill your father—are you really just going to walk away without seeking revenge?'

Yelü Yan snorted and said, 'Surname Feng, stop your sarcastic remarks; if we could beat you, we would have already avenged my elder brother.'

Feng Yi gave a slight smile: 'Are all the Yelü family nothing but cowards who cling to life and fear death?'

Yelü Yan's lovely face turned cold as she said, 'So you mean you deliberately want to be at odds with us?'

Feng Yi gave a cold snort and said, 'Intentional? You are overestimating yourself, but since Yelü Chucai is dead, why is your brother still alive?'

Upon hearing this, the three turned pale with fright.

Yelü Qi's father, Yelü Chucai, was of Khitan royalty; to avenge the Jin's destruction of Liao by the Jurchen, he served as chancellor under Genghis Khan and Ögedei, but due to his loyal and upright conduct, he offended the empress and was dismissed; Yelü Qi protected his mother and sister, fled to the Southern Dynasty, becoming a southern refugee no different from ordinary Song commoners.

But not long after this happened, how he came to know it, I don't know; however, since Feng Yi said so, their situation is already extremely perilous.

Therefore, Yelü Qi made a swift decision and whispered, 'You all hurry and leave!'

Yelü Yan, however, cried out, hand on her sword hilt, 'No, we share life and death, advance and retreat together; you cannot think of shaking me off!'

Wanyan Ping pursed her cherry lips and said, 'What Sister Yan says is right—we advance and retreat together; what is there to fear from him?'

Feng Yi's eyes flashed like lightning as he glanced askance at Wanyan Ping and said, 'This is my affair with the Yelü family; are you sure you want to stick your nose in?'

Wanyan Ping replied, 'Anything concerning Elder Brother Yelü is related to me; what do you mean by 'sticking your nose in'?'

Feng Yi smiled and said, 'So does that mean you and Lord Yelü have formed a Qin-Jin alliance?'

Wanyan Ping gave a cold laugh and said, 'He once sacrificed his life for me; I naturally wish to repay him, but it has nothing to do with love!'

Yelü Qi, hearing this, stared blankly at Wanyan Ping, his mind in utter confusion.

Feng Yi said lightly, 'Although there is the saying 'the Prince of Xiang has a dream, the goddess has no heart,' I can understand that, but hearing your tone, if I were to kill Yelü Qi, would you still fight me to the death?'

Wanyan Ping said, 'Seeing injustice and drawing swords to help is the duty of martial practitioners. You killed their elder brother, yet they do not seek revenge but instead come to befriend you, while you harbor malicious intent—how could such reasoning exist under heaven?'

Feng Yi coldly replied, 'A woman's view—do you not know that those not of my kind have hearts that must differ?'

Back then, your Jin destroyed Liao; the Yelü clan served as officials in your Jin; later, as the Mongols grew powerful, Yelü Chucai pledged allegiance to Temüjin. He offered strategies, conquered cities, pacified the rear, and became a high official of both dynasties.

Now Yelü Chucai is sidelined by the Mongol empress, yet Kublai shares his views; once in power, the Yelü family would flourish again—so, as a precaution, how could Yelü Qi possibly avoid death?

He spoke at length, leaving Yelü Qi and Wanyan Ping speechless.

Yelü Yan could not help but say, 'Is this your reason for wanting to kill us?'

Feng Yi wore a smile and said, 'Is that not enough? However, I, Feng Yi, do not like to kill women; you may go, but your brother must die.' He thought to himself, 'This fellow might be the hidden plot that leads to Guo Jing and Huang Rong's failure to resist the Mongols and the city's fall; how could he not die?'

Feng Yi well knew that, according to history, Yelü Chucai held high office and great power under Genghis Khan and Ögedei, but later, when Ögedei's empress Töregene held regency, she marginalized Yelü Chucai, leading to his death.

At that time, Kublai was merely a prince, gave no help, yet also inherited Yelü Chucai's political legacy.

This led to Möngke's ascension; he discovered that Kublai's subordinates were full of talent and had already established great prestige, posing a tremendous challenge to his imperial authority.

Therefore, Möngke launched a crackdown on Kublai. However, many of Kublai's subordinates had benefited from Yelü Chucai's favor or were promoted capable officials, so this crackdown did not go deep.

Möngke then launched the invasion of the Song; as long as the Southern Song was destroyed, he would become the master of the Central Plains, leaving Kublai no room to develop—yet he lost his life.

This resulted in Kublai's successful accession; after disposing of Ariq Böke and securing his throne, he launched another invasion of the Song.

The result was that, despite resisting several Mongol attacks for decades without falling, Xiangyang surrendered—this is true history, yet historically there were no figures like Guo Jing and Huang Rong.

In the world of the Divine Eagle, however, Guo Jing exists; how could he surrender? Only if he died first would the city's defenders yield.

But Guo Jing is inside Xiangyang; with his martial prowess, how could he die?

In the original storyline, when Yang Guo allied with the Golden Wheel Dharma King against Guo Jing, Kublai repeatedly sent warriors to assassinate him; they all failed—either captured or killed, none returned.

After all, given Guo Jing's martial prowess, the only way to kill him is for someone close to him to strike secretly—and only then can it succeed!

Then, who among those close enough could strike?

Feng Yi thought it over and concluded that only Yelü Qi had the greatest chance.

As Feng Yi thought, he waved his hand, and the Shadowless Divine Fist erupted.

Yelü Qi knew Feng Yi's profound martial arts, always on guard; seeing his wandering gaze, he had already circulated his qi throughout his body, and when Feng Yi raised his hand, Yelü Qi immediately blocked with both palms, feeling a huge force surge upward, his chest suddenly heating,

Feng Yi saw his swift response, praised it with a 'good,' swayed his body, and turned his left palm to strike downward at Yelü Qi's crown.

Yelü Qi's martial arts were strong, his internal energy not weak, but compared to Feng Yi he was far inferior; he immediately endured the discomfort, flipped his right palm, and with the move "Lifting Clouds to Support the Moon" he blocked the opponent's fierce palm.

Peng! Yelü Qi felt the opponent's force surge like a tide, his face flushed red, his legs went weak, and Plop! he knelt down on the ground.

Yelü Yan's anger surged instantly; Swish! she drew her long sword and, with the move "Slanting Wind and Fine Rain", stabbed toward Feng Yi's wrist.

Feng Yi didn't even look; he flicked his middle finger—Clang! the sword blade trembled and sang, Yelü Yan felt intense pain in her tiger mouth, and her long sword flew straight up into the sky.

Feng Yi lightly kicked Yelü Yan in the abdomen; she let out a muffled groan and her body flew more than a zhang away.

Yelü Qi was already unable to resist; seeing his sister kicked away, he was about to muster his remaining courage to counterattack when Feng Yi's second layer of palm force came again.

In an instant, Yelü Qi felt a force of a thousand jin pressing down, his vision went dark, and he collapsed straight onto the ground.

Feng Yi lifted his foot to step on him; he intended this strike to leave no chance for survival when suddenly he felt a flash of cold light before his eyes—Wanyan Ping swung her knife toward him, and Yelü Qi seized the opportunity to make a side roll, rolling away, but blood spurted wildly from his mouth.

Feng Yi coldly said, 'You don't know good from bad!' He flicked his sleeve, and Wanyan Ping immediately felt a strong force coming toward her; involuntarily she did a backward somersault, landing and feeling her whole body unbearably hot, then she suddenly shouted, 'You are so unreasonable—why don't you just die?'

Feng Yi snorted, 'When your Jin dynasty destroyed my Great Song and slaughtered my people, when did you ever talk about reason?'

Wanyan Ping was momentarily speechless.

Feng Yi shifted his gaze: 'Yelü Qi, blame yourself for meeting me!' He then suddenly pushed out a palm.

Yelü Qi crossed his fists and lightly went forward to meet it.

Who would have thought Feng Yi's palm was a feint; reaching halfway, it suddenly sank down, falling toward Yelü Qi's abdomen.

Yelü Qi was startled; he tapped his feet repeatedly, retreating more than a zhang, his body technique swift—this was the Quanzhen Sect's Golden Goose Technique.

Feng Yi smiled slightly: 'Good!' He raised his palm, about to unleash the Splitting-the-Air Palm, when he heard the sound of horse hooves—then someone called out, 'Master Feng, please wait.' That voice carried strong internal energy; Feng Yi looked in the direction of the sound and saw six or seven riders galloping toward him. He recognized the leader as Zhi Bing Zhen, a disciple of Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Sect, and felt quite strange, not knowing their purpose.

Moreover, they surely saw that Yelü Qi had Quanzhen martial arts—how should this person be killed appropriately?

Actually, Feng Yi's desire to kill Yelü Qi is not only because of inferring from the so-called historical trajectory, but also according to Jin Yong's worldview.

After Yelü Chucai died, Kublai Khan actually defied the empress's order and did not arrest Yelü Qi and his family.

After Yelü Qi hooked up with Guo Fu in the Central Plains, he became the leader of the Beggars' Sect, seemingly also resisting the Mongols.

But his resistance was against the Mongols under Mongke's rule; when Kublai came to power and attacked Xiangyang, the city fell.

Moreover, at that time Guo Xiang was actually far away in Sichuan, unable to rush back; although Feng Yi thought Guo Xiang was a love-brain, she was not a person who completely lacked parents and siblings.

This also suffices to show that the fall of Xiangyang came too suddenly, catching her off guard quickly.

Moreover, Guo Xiang's disciple, the Abbess Mie Jie, in front of her disciple Zhou Zhiruo, said that she had an older sister named Guo Fu, who was by nature rash and violent.

Such words devoid of any respect—if not spoken by Guo Xiang to her disciple Feng Ling Shi Tai, and also to her disciple Mie Jie in this way, how could Mie Jie describe her own disciple Zhou Zhiruo like that?

You should know that at that time she, using her seniority as a master, forced Zhou Zhiruo—really not afraid that the disciple would imitate her?

You have no respect for your ancestral senior sister, so why should I listen to you?

These suffice to show that Guo Xiang harbors great resentment toward her sister Guo Fu; this resentment may be because she cut off the arm of her beloved Yang Guo, or perhaps because the husband she chose has let down the Guo family.

After all, the Wu and Zhu families have descendants surviving in the world, active in the Heavenly Sword world, but the Guo family has no descendants besides Guo Xiang.

You should know that Guo Poer was already thirty when Xiangyang fell.

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Given all this, Yelü Qi definitely has the possibility of betrayal—or rather he is simply someone Kublai planted in Song territory.

Remain silent all along, waiting for the critical moment to see remarkable effect!

When is the critical moment?

That naturally is the great Emperor Kublai's conquest of Song, in one fell swoop pacifying the Song lands, following heaven and responding to people—the mandate of heaven is mine!

Therefore, Feng Yi believes that the appearance of this character Yelü Qi in the Condor Heroes is precisely the hook buried for the failure of Guo Jing and Huang Rong's resistance against the Mongols.

After all, Guo Jing not only has peerless martial arts, Huang Rong not only has clever wisdom; they also possess the Wu Mu Legacy, which crystallizes the military teachings of the martial sage Yue Fei.

Yet they still failed just as in history; the Mongols defeated not only Guo Jing and Huang Rong, but also, in effect, Yue Fei.

Could it be merely the wheel of history, the effect of the Mandate of Heaven?

Feng Yi doesn't really believe it; after all, in Jin Yong's world, Zhang Wuji had his empire seized by Zhu Yuanzhang using poison and conspiracy.

Qiao Feng was forced by Yelü Hongji to bleed at Yanmen Gate—how is that not using poison and conspiracy?

Then what about Guo Jing?

Could he not also have been harmed by someone's conspiracy?

As for saying that Yelü Qi had a good reputation in the Beggars' Sect during the Heavenly Sword period and should not have defected, Feng Yi does not believe that either.

Because the Beggars' Sect, a renowned sect for hundreds of years, values its face above all—just as Qiao Feng was initially framed for killing deputy chief Ma Da Yuan, but when the Beggars' Sect elders learned it was due to the illicit affair between Elder Bai Shijing and Kang Min, and moreover Elder Xu of the sect had been seduced by Kang Min, they then invited Shan Zheng, Tan Gong, Tan Po, and other martial arts heroes to expose Qiao Feng's origins and force him to abdicate.

After the Beggars' Sect elders learned of these matters, some elder proposed that Qiao Feng's name should be cleared, not letting him suffer an unjust accusation, enduring the scorn and ridicule of the martial world.

The result was that some elders believed Qiao Feng's personal reputation weighed less than the Beggars' Sect's reputation.

If they were to clear his name and let the martial world know, the venerable Beggars' Sect would actually be played with by a woman using her body, to the point of applause—not only using the law-abiding enforcement elder to kill the deputy chief, but also using the All-around Talented Scholar Quan Guanqing to steal the sect leader's fan and frame him, and even the long-retired elder was dragged into the water, thus forcing the sect leader to step down.

Once such a scandal spreads, how could the Beggars' Sect disciples have face to stand in the martial world?

Everyone loses face to see others; precisely out of this thought, everyone concealed the matter and did not clear Qiao Feng's name.

When Qiao Feng heard all this, he truly felt disheartened, thinking that all martial brotherhood was nonsense; later he became the Southern Campus King, and only then could he be at ease, free of psychological burden.

Feng Yi indeed knows this point, so even if Yelü Qi became a traitor, the Beggars' Sect would never acknowledge it nor let it spread; therefore he has already made up his mind to kill Yelü Qi.

As for, if I am petty-minded and guessed wrong.

Then there's no time to worry about it!

Not mentioning the countless innocent Han people harmed over the years by the Khitan and Mongols; just the number of loyal officials and virtuous scholars wrongfully killed throughout history is unknown, and compared to that, what is a mere Yelü Qi?

Moreover, looking at Yelü Qi in the Condor Heroes, he has made no contribution; it seems he is merely there to marry Guo Fu and become sect leader.

Such a person, even dead, has no impact!

But now seeing members of the Quanzhen Sect, Feng Yi realizes he now has a legitimate reason!

The riders total seven; besides the leader at the front, the other six are one on each side left and right, with four riders behind, faintly forming a formation.

The distance between each horse is five steps, as if measured by chi; it neither hinders movement nor fails to allow mutual support, and Feng Yi saw that this is the Heavenly Gang Big Dipper Formation.

In the blink of an eye, the cavalry arrived; the leader, Zhen Zhibing, waved his hand, and the horsemen halted in neat unison ten paces from Feng Yi and the others, all seven dismounting together.

Feng Yi saw that they were all middle-aged Daoists, likely third-generation disciples; he only knew Zhen Zhibing and Zhao Zhijing, the other five were strangers to him.

But Zhen Zhibing, after not seeing him for many days, had turned sallow and emaciated; it was unclear whether it was due to Feng Yi damaging his male function, or from longing for Xiao Longnv.

Although Yelü Qi did not know them, he had vaguely guessed their origin, yet he did not expect that they were acquainted with Feng Yi, and wondered how close their relationship was!

The gazes of Zhen Zhibing and the others first swept over Yelü Qi, then glanced at Yelü Yan and Wanyan Ping, and finally came to rest slowly on Feng Yi.

Zhen Zhibing clasped his hands and said, 'Great Hero Feng, greetings; I do not know why you have come into conflict with these people.'

Feng Yi replied lightly, 'Where are you headed?'

They raised extraneous matters; Feng Yi was also rude, yet his question was perfectly justified.

Zhen Zhibing smiled and said, 'We are acting on the orders of True Person Liu and True Person Qiu, going to pay respects to the Great Hero Guo of Xiangyang and Chief Huang, to discuss an important matter.'

Feng Yi nodded and asked, 'Is it about the Mongol invasion of the Song?'

Zhen Zhibing nodded and said, 'Exactly!'

It turned out that the reason the previous Heroes' Assembly sent Hao Datong and Sun Bu'er, accompanied by Zhen Zhibing and Zhao Zhijing, to attend the Heroes' Assembly was

Only because Ma Yu was gravely ill, Qiu Chuji and the remaining disciples helped him heal, thus unable to attend the assembly.

As a result, Hao Datong and Sun Bu'er were driven off by Yang Guo, unable to participate in the grand gathering; upon returning to the Quanzhen Sect, Ma Yu had already passed away. Upon learning that the Mongol army was attacking Xiangyang, Qiu Chuji could not neglect public duty for private reasons, and thus sent Zhen Zhibing, Zhao Zhijing, and the other seven to Xiangyang to gather information and report back.

Both sides agreed that the Quanzhen Sect could, behind the Mongol army, cut down soldiers and generals, burn and pillage provisions, to aid the Great Song and hinder the Mongol forces from advancing south.

From a distance, several people saw a fight; Yelü Qi was displaying Quanzhen Sect martial arts, so they naturally shouted to stop it.

At that moment, Yelü Yan sprang up from the ground, brandished her long sword, and thrust it at Feng Yi again; the kick Feng Yi had given her earlier had merely knocked the wind out of her.

Yelü Qi cried anxiously, 'Yan sister, stop!'

Yelü Yan lowered her sword as instructed, but her anger had not subsided; she stood fuming, four feet from Feng Yi, holding her sword horizontally.

The Quanzhen disciples saw her rise and draw her sword swiftly and skillfully, recognizing that she was using Quanzhen martial arts.

Zhao Zhijing immediately asked, 'Miss, who is your master?'

Yelü Yan replied, 'My martial arts were taught by my brother!'

Zhao Zhijing glanced at Yelü Qi and said, 'I do not know how to address you, sir; who is your master?'

Yelü Qi smiled slightly and said, 'I am Yelü Qi, also a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect. As for my master's name, however, it is not convenient to reveal.'

Originally, Yelü Qi met Zhou Botong twelve years ago; at that time he was still young, and they got along well playing, so the Lao Wantong took him as a disciple.

Although the transmitted martial arts were not many, Yelü Qi was intelligent and resolute, training diligently, and actually became an outstanding figure among his junior generation.

Zhou Botong saw his martial arts improving daily, his conduct becoming more proper, no longer resembling the little urchin he first met; moreover, he could not master the left-right mutual combat technique, found it uninteresting, and forbade him from calling himself the direct disciple of Lao Wantong.

The Quanzhen disciples observed that Yelü Qi had broad shoulders, a slender waist, and long limbs; his every movement bore an extraordinary aura. That recent retreat showed his skill was truly remarkable.

But he is too young, only about twenty; by rights he should be a fourth-generation disciple of the Qing generation, his master ought to be of the same generation as them, yet he says his master's name is not convenient to reveal.

When did the Quanzhen Sect ever have such a rule?

Zhao Zhijing's face suddenly changed, his eyes flashing with sharp light, and he coldly said, 'Boy, you must not have secretly learned our sect's martial arts, which is why you won't name your master, right?'

Yelü Qi thought: 'If I were to reveal my master's name, you would still be my juniors.' He said, 'My master has repeatedly warned me; I dare not disobey, Daoist, please understand.'

Feng Yi chuckled lightly and said, 'All right, stop pretending. Your master does not allow you to call himself his disciple, yet you claim to be a Quanzhen disciple— is that not inviting people to guess who your master is from within the Quanzhen Sect? When faced with someone well-informed and clever, who could not figure it out?'

The Quanzhen disciples' faces turned purple with anger; they glared at Feng Yi, eyes full of fury— is this not scolding them for being ignorant and not clever enough?

Yelü Qi replied awkwardly, 'I have no intention of being mysterious; it is simply that my master does not allow me to call myself his disciple, yet as a disciple I cannot forget my roots.'

Feng Yi laughed heartily and said, 'That makes sense; let me say it for you: you are not only the son of the Mongol prime minister, but you have also studied martial arts with the Quanzhen elder Zhou Botong.'

"What?"

"Is that true?"

All the Quanzhen disciples never expected this; they stared at Yelü Qi, their astonishment plainly visible.

(End of chapter)