White Horse Neighing in the West Wind #13

Li Wenxiu heard Su Pu defend her, and her heart stirred, “He did not forget me, did not forget me! He still treats me very well.” But she heard Chen Dahai continuously asking about the belongings that she had left behind, and felt puzzled, “I’ve never taken anything from him, whatever is he looking for?” Then she heard old man Ji ask, “What has Sir lost? That little girl was always honest, and I trusted her completely. She would never take another’s belongings.” Chen Dahai made a slight noise, and said, “It was a painting. Ordinary people would have no use for it, but because it was… it was painted by my late father, so I must get that painting back. Since that little girl lived here before, did you ever see this painting?” Old man Ji inquired, “What kind of painting was it, depicting scenery or humans?” Chen Dahai said, “I believe it was… was depicting scenery?” Su Pu smiled coldly and said, “You don’t even know what kind of painting it was, and still dare to accuse her of stealing it.” Chen Dahai flew into a great fury. With a swish, he pulled out the sword hanging from his waist, and yelled, “Little crook, are you tired of living? I can kill a whole lot of people and still not put it to heart.” Su Pu also pulled his sabre from his waist, and coldly said, “I’m afraid it isn’t that easy to kill a Kazak.” A’man cautioned, “Su Pu, don’t be ignorant like him.” After Su Pu heard what A’man said, he slowly placed his sabre back into its scabbard. Chen Dahai was extremely determined to get the map of the Gao Chang Labyrinth. They had lingered in the desert for a decade, searching miles of desert and pastures, just to find Li Wenxiu. After much trouble, he had finally managed to receive a little information about her. Although he was impatient and violent by nature, he did understand that he had to tolerate little things so as to not mess up the big picture. So he glared at Su Pu, before turning to old man Ji and asked, “Well, about that painting, it could be considered a map, depicting the topography of some land features in the desert.” Old man Ji trembled slightly, saying, “How did… did you know that the map was in the hands of the little girl?” Chen Dahai answered, “This thing is absolutely true. If you can find the map and return it to me, I will reward you handsomely.” As he spoke he took out two silver ingots from his bosom and placed them on the table. Illuminated by the firelight, the ingots sparkled brightly.

Old man Ji thought deeply for a second, then shook his head slowly, saying, “I’ve never seen it before.” Chen Dahai replied, “I want to take a look at the things that that little girl left behind.” Old man Ji stammered, “This… this…” Chen Dahai raised his left hand and grabbed his silver-hilted dagger, and stuck it into the wooden table, saying, “What’s so this and that? I’ll go inside and take a look myself.” As he spoke he lighted a candle made from mutton fat, pushed the door open and entered the room. He entered old man Ji’s bedroom first. Seeing that the furnishings looked unfamiliar, he causally rummaged through several boxes and baskets before moving to Li Wenxiu’s room.

He saw the clothes which Li Wenxiu had removed in a hurry, and said, “Ha, she died after reaching maturity.” This time he conducted his search very carefully, and even rummaged through the clothes Li Wenxiu wore as a child. Although she could not fit into these clothes because she had grown up, she still kept them intact for they were sewn by her mother. As soon as Chen Dahai set his eyes on those colourful clothes, he vaguely recalled the scene from a decade ago, where he had pursued her in the great desert. Joyfully he cried out, “Yes, yes, it is her!” But he had already ransacked the room, even cutting open the linings of all the clothes, yet he was still unable to find the map. When Su Pu saw him ruining her belongings like that, he pulled his sabre out several times, wanting to strike, but each time he was restrained by A’man.

Old man Ji looked out of the corner of his eye at Li Wenxiu occasionally, only to see her gazing into the fire, seemingly oblivious to Chen Dahai’s savaging. Old man Ji felt sadness in his heart, “But what can she do when faced with the sword of this violent visitor?” Li Wenxiu looked at the expression of Su Pu’s face, and felt miserable yet heartened, “He has always remembered me; he actually dares to pull out his sword and duel with that man just to protect my belongings.” But she was also perplexed, “This evil bandit said that I stole his map, what exactly is that map?” That day, before Li Wenxiu’s mother died, she had stuffed a map into Li Wenxiu’s clothes. But the circumstances were pressing, and she did not have time to explain before mother and daughter parted ways forever. The men from Jinwei Protection Agency spent the last decade searching for her everywhere, but Li Wenxiu herself was completely unaware of all this.

Chen Dahai spent a long time rummaging through the room, but his efforts were fruitless, making him extremely discouraged. Suddenly he asked sternly, “Where is she buried?” Old man Ji was froze for a moment, then said, “Somewhere far, far away.” Chen Dahai removed a iron spade from the wall, ordering, “You take me there!” Su Pu stood up, and yelled, “What are you going there for?” Chen Dahai answered, “Why should you care? I’m going to dig open her grave to take a look, who knows, she might have brought the map with her into her grave,” Su Pu positioned his sabre horizontally, barring the doorway, crying out, “I won’t let you touch her grave!” Chen Dahai raised the iron spade, and struck Su Pu’s head, shouting, “Get lost!” Su Pu dodged to the left, and sent his sabre outwards. Chen Dahai threw the iron spade aside, and pulled out the long sword hanging from his waist. There was a clang as sword and sabre clashed. Each man leapt backwards one step, then immediately launched their attacks, fighting each other.

The hall of this cottage was small, and as the sword and sabre swung everywhere, old man Ji and A’man retreated to the sides, their backs against the walls. Only Li Wenxiu remained standing at the windows. A’man dashed over, and pulled out the daggers which Chen Dahai had stuck into the table, intending to aid Su Pu. But as they were in the thick of the battle, she did not have the chance to interfere. By this time, Su Pu had inherited all of his father’s skills, the steps of his swordplay permutated continuously, and his strokes were fierce and powerful. At the beginning, Chen Dahai was on the losing end, and was secretly shocked, “Who would have thought that the martial arts skills of this Kazak lad are on par with the excellent pugilists from the Central Plains?” At that moment, he felt a gust of wind breeze past his back. A’man had tried to launch a sneak attack on him by throwing a small dagger at him. Chen Dahai dodged it by moving to the right. Chi! Su Pu’s sabre had cut an opening in his left arm. Chen Dahai was extremely furious. Swish! Swish! Swish! With three successive strokes, he displayed his famous skill, the Green Python Swordplay.

Su Pu saw the tip of the sword sparkle as it moved exactly like a spitting python. He did not know which part of his body the tip of the sword was going to pierce. He was unable to block off a blow, and his enemy sent his long sword right into his face. He hurriedly cocked his head to one side, but the side of his neck was still stabbed. Blood flowed profusely. Chen Dahai did not retreat once he had gained the upper hand. Another thrust of his sword, and he had stabbed Su Pu’s wrist. His sabre fell to the ground with a crash.

He was about to thrust his sword out a third time. Su Pu was utterly defenceless and was certainly going to be killed. Li Wenxiu stepped forward, and waited until he thrust his sword out the third time, then she would use ‘Great Adept Seize’ to grab his arm. But A’man leapt forward, and shielded Su Pu, crying out, “Don’t harm him!” When Chen Dahai saw that A’man’s beautiful face was full of anxiety, his heart skipped a beat. He did not send his sword out a third time, but pointed his tip at her chest, and laughed, “You’re so concerned about him; is this lad your lover?” A’man blushed slightly and nodded her head. Chen Dahai said, “Fine, I’ll spare his life if you want me to. But once the hailstorm dies down tomorrow, you’ll have to leave with me!”

He had hated Hans his entire life, but now this belief was wavering. He was furious at himself for being so drunk last night and was thus unable to battle with that Han bandit. Instead, he needed another Han to come and rescue him. In his entire life, when something critical happened, he was always so unfortunate, always so unlucky. But when that bandit’s long sword had struck his head just now, that young man had arrived in the nick of time to rescue him. Could this be considered misfortune? Could this be considered bad luck?

Su Pu was greatly angered. With a tremendous roar, he leapt forward from behind A’man. With a flick of his sword, Chen Dahai had pointed it at Su Pu’s throat. Chen Dahai’s left foot kicked Su Pu’s leg, and the latter crashed to the ground. The long sword was still pointed at his throat.

Li Wenxiu stood at the side, watching intently. As soon as Chen Dahai truly intended to harm Su Pu, she would step in and save him. At this time, with her martial arts skills, dealing with Chen Dahai would be as easy as a flip of the palm.

But how could A’man have known that help was at hand? As the circumstances were pressing, she could only say, “Don’t hurt him; I’ll agree to your request.” Chen Dahai was jubilant, but did not move his sword away. He said, “You’ve agreed to leave with me tomorrow, and you’d better not go back on your promise.” A’man gritted her teeth, “I won’t go back on my promise; you can take the sword away.” Chen Dahai laughed uproariously, and said, “Even if you do go back on your word, you won’t be able to escape!” He then placed his sword back in its sheath, then picked Su Pu’s sabre up, and held it tightly in his hand. In this manner, the only person in the cottage with weapons was him, and he did not need to fear that they would resist him. He looked out of the window and said, “We can’t leave at this moment, so we’ll have to wait until the weather’s fine to exhume the grave.”

A’man helped Su Pu to one side. When she saw that his neck was bleeding profusely, she was in a flurry. She was about to tear off a piece of her clothes to bandage his wound when he removed a large handkerchief from his bosom, and said, “Use this handkerchief to bandage my wound then!” A’man received the handkerchief, and bandaged his wound properly. When she thought that she had landed in the clutches of this strong opponent, and did not know if she would have to opportunity to escape, she began to weep. In a low voice, Su Pu cursed, “Damnable bandit, damnable bandit!” He decided that if this bandit really tried to take A’man away, he would fight it out with him even at the risk of losing his life.

After the fight just now, the five people sitting around the fire felt extremely nervous. In one hand, Chen Dahai held the sabre; in the other, a bowl of wine. He would glance at A’man, then Su Pu from time to time. Outside the house, the northerly winds howled angrily, bringing up pieces of snow which hit the walls and roof of the cottage. Nobody spoke a word.