Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his chin. Ah Ching pulled out a strand of his beard. She laughed prettily. Suddenly the laugh was cut off and she said "You're here again!"
A green shadow flashed as Ah Ching shot forward. A green blur and a white blur was moving quickly around each other.
Feng Li cried gladly "Grandpa White's here!" It's a while before the two combatants slowed down enough for him to get a good look. Then he got a great surprise.
The one fighting Ah Ching wasn't human. It was a white ape.
The white ape, too, was holding a bamboo stick. The white ape performed intricate sword forms. The whooshing sound of the stick signaled the great strength it put into each form. But everytime he attack, Ah Ching was always able to block or redirect each blow and counterattack using even more intricate sword forms.
When Ah Ching fought the Wu swordmen, the forms she used were minimal. Only now Feng Li witnessed the vast skill Ah Ching wielded. He was no expert in swords, but he had looked at the Yueh swordmen train for many years. Now, he realized that the best swordmen of Yueh were but children playing with toys when compared to Ah Ching and Grandpa.
The white ape's attacks sped up faster and faster. Ah Ching slowed down instead. She stood still, but each time she thrusted with her bamboo stick, the white ape was forced to jump back.
Ah Ching forced the white ape three steps, then she pulled back her stick and stood still. The white ape held his stick in two hands and jumped to attack. Feng Li saw the strength of the attack and cried out "Watch out!" Ah Ching's stick moved too fast to be seen. There were two muffled sounds of impact, then the white ape's bamboo stick dropped to the ground. The white ape howed and jumped up to a tree. Then it leaped away. The howl was intense, but became muter as the it went farther away. The howl reverberated long after the white ape was gone.
Ah Ching turned back and sighed "Grandpa broke both of his arms. Now he won't come play with me anymore."
Feng Li said "You broke his arms?"
Ah Ching nodded " Grandpa is very angry today. Three times, he tried to leap over and kill you."
Feng Li said in surprise "Kill me? Why?"
Ah Ching shook her head "I don't know."
Feng Li became scared in secret "If Ah Ching didn't stop it, that white ape can kill me, easy as blowing away a pile of ash!"
The next morning, Ah Ching faced twenty of the best swordmen of Yueh alone. Feng Li knew that Ah Ching could not teach other people how to use the sword the way she did, so the only way was for the Yueh swordmen to imitate her.
The problem was no Yueh swordmen could last three passes from her.Whenever Ah Ching's bamboo stick moved, her opponent either lost his sword, or got stabbed in some delicate area.
The next day, she defeated thirty swordmen. The third day, thirty more lost.
The fourth day, Feng Li went to ask her for another lesson, but he could not find her. He went to her home, but the house was empty. Feng Li sent hundreds of his servants and guards into the mountains to look for her, but no one could find any trace of her.
The eighty Yueh swordmen didn't learn the true sword skill from Ah Ching, but they saw the smallest portion of the ultimate sword skill. All the swordmen now knew the true height sword skill could go. The eighty swordmen tried to teach the small portion they could understand to their comrades. Even this pale shadow of a pale shadow of the ultimate skill was enough, Yueh swordmen became invincible.
King Kou Chiang ordered Hsieh Chu to forge thousands of sharp swords.
Three years later, Kou Chiang attacked Wu. The armies of Yueh and Wu met next to a lake. Five thousand Yueh swordmen marched forward. Wu swordmen met them. Yueh swords flashed and the Wu army was shattered.
King Fu Chai retreated to Yu Hong Mountain. The army of Yueh followed. The second battle ensued. The Wu army was again defeated. Fu Chai committed suicide in order to avoid the cruel fate Kou Chiang had in store for him. Yueh took the capital of Wu.
Feng Li led one thousand swordmen and rushed to King Fu Chai's resort palace. That was where Si Shi lived. He ran into the palace, shouting "Yi Kwan! Yi Kwan!"
He ran past a long corridor, his footstep echoed clearly. The corridor was hollow underneath. Si Shi walked lightly, the rhythm of her steps was more enchanting than any music. Fu Chai built this palace, this corridor in order to listen to the melody of her footsteps.
At the other end of the corridor, music came, like the sound of a happy mandolin, like the clear sound of a zither. A soft voice said "Shao Bo, is that really you?"
Feng Li felt blood rushing upward from his chest and shouted "It's I. It's I. I have come for you." His own voice seemed like the voice of a stranger, speaking from far away. He ran forward with uneven steps.
The music came down the corridor, a soft body entered his embrace.
The spring night was meltingly warm. Flower fragrance floated through the curtains, entering the chambers of the resort palace. Feng Li and Si Shi talked about their longing for each other.
Suddenly the sound goat penetrated into their awareness.
Feng LI said "You can't forget you homeland? You have goats here?"
Si Shi shook her head. She wondered about the goats, but she couldn't think of anything else in the presence of the man she loved. She held Feng Li's hand, and fiery blood flowed faster through their arteries.
Suddenly, the voice of a woman sounded "Feng Li! Bring out you Si Shi. I'll kill her!"
Feng Li stood up. Si Shi felt his palm suddenly turning cold. Feng Li recognized Ah Ching's voice. Her voice came from outside of the resort palace.
Feng Li was fearful and puzzled. "Why does she want to kill Yi Kwan? Yi Kwan had never wronged her." Then he understood "She's not really a simple village girl. She always liked me." The understanding only made him more fearful.
He had gone through many, many difficult decisions as well as dangerous situations. The fear he felt when he was trapped with Kou Chiang in a Wu siege was far less than what he felt now. Si Shi felt his palm trembbling and covered with cold sweat.
Feng Li was not afraid of his own death. He feared for Si Shi.
Feng Li pulled himself under control and said "I will go see this person." He released Si Shi's hand and walked out of the palace.
Eighteen swordmen followed him. They all heard Ah Ching's cry. They were baffled and curious. Feng Li oly saw the clear moonlight outside, but no one was visible. He cried out loudly "Lady Ah Ching, please come here. We have things to talk about." But he heard no reply. He waited, but Ah Ching did not come. He ordered one thousand armored soldiers and one thousand elite swordmen to be moved to the resort palace.
He returned to Si Shi and held her hands again. He didn't say anything. He was planning as he never planned before "Should I let one of the servant maids pretending to be Si Shi and let Ah Ching kill her? Should I commit suicide before Ah Ching so she will spare Si Shi? Should I order two thousand archers surrounding this place and shoot Ah Ching full of arrows if she tries to force her way in?" Every plan he had was flawed. He also didn't want to kill Ah Ching, who had made the destruction of Wu possible. He stared at Shi Si. Suddenly he felt warmth in his heart "It's good that we'll die this way. At least we spend sometime together before we die together."
Hours passed. Si Shi felt that Feng's hand became warmer. He lost his fear and began to smile.
The rising sun cast its rays through the window.