Flaming torches sparked to life the cave, lighting it up. Feng was breathing and circulating his internal energy as Zhaxiang had taught him to. Even though he had been practicing for only a few hours, Feng could feel that his internal energy had become much more powerful. Feng then began practicing his swordplay. His moves combined strength with agility, power with elegance. What made the sword forms of the 'Heavenly Sect' so lethal was the fact that they were unpredictable and seemed to follow no pattern; the swordsman would change his attack frequently, would retreat when one would expect that he would attack and attack when one would expect that he would retreat. He would pretend to attack the chest and then change the attack and strike at the legs. The unpredictability of the swordplay meant that one would not be able to guess where the swordsman would attack next.

Seeing how fast Feng was learning, Zhaxiang was smiling. "It seems I wasn't wrong about you; you really are talented. Of course, what you've learned is the basics of our swordplay, the first sword forms only."

Zhaxiang then walked to Feng and gave him his sword, a double-edged straight long sword with golden hilt. There was a dragon carved upon the blade of the sword. "This is the 'Sword of Death', the most lethal and powerful weapon in the entire Martial Arts World. It is said that the one who has this sword will rule the Martial Arts World. Many died trying to acquire this sword. My Master stole it from the Demon King Zhao three hundred years ago. Nowadays, most people think it is just an old legend."

Zhaxiang then gave Feng a textbook. "What is this?", Feng asked.

"I am dying. I cannot possibly teach you all of our Sect's sword forms. Neither of us have enough time for this. This book I gave you contains instructions that will allow you to master all of the Sect's sword forms without my guidance."

Feng bowed and said, "Thank you Master. I will study it and learn all the sword forms. I promise you that."

"I know that you will."

After pausing for a moment, Zhaxiang continued with stern voice. "But you must promise to me that you will never let anyone else, no matter how much you may trust that person or how close you are, to read this book."

"I promise."

Zhaxiang smiled. "Good. Now I can die in peace. Take the flower and leave."

The elder gave Feng the flower. It had beautiful blue petals. Feng kowtowed thrice before Zhaxiang and left behind the cave. Although he knew Zhaxiang for only a few hours, he could not help but feel sad for leaving him behind. He sighed and a few tears poured from his eyes. But he knew that he could not delay any longer; Jingfei's life was at stake.

The lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black. As he was walking, Feng was gazing at the sky; he could see star, after star, after star, a never ending void of light on the pitch black sky. When Feng arrived to Chong's hut, it was already late at night.

As he walked into the hut, he could see the surprise on Chong's face and the happiness on Xiao's face. Xiao laughed; but his laugh was in his eyes, in the way his face changed into that vision of relaxed joy and unrestrained mirth. "I knew you would make it back!", Xiao said.

"I would be lying if I said that I expected you to come back.", Chong said. "I am genuinely surprised that you made it. Did you bring the flower?"

"Yes.", Feng said and gave him the flower.

"At last, I and Qinghong can have peace.", he said. "I will finally get rid of him and he will believe that I am dead. Both of us will be able to live in peace."

Chong then used his sword to slash his own chest. Blood dripped on the floor and he let out a cry.

"Why did you do that?", Xiao asked.

"Do you really believe Qinghong will be fooled if there are no injuries on me?", Chong replied. "You supposedly killed me in a fight, so I have to be wounded for the story to look real."

Chong smelled the flower's fragrance and inhaled its poison. As soon as he did so, he collapsed on the floor. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. It was as if he was dead. Feng and Xiao brought his body where they had met Qinghong. As expected, he was waiting there for them along with Jingfei, who was still unconscious.

A smile appeared on Qinghong's face and he began crying; tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down Qinghong's face. Those were not tears of sadness but tears of joy. For the first time in over twenty years, Qinghong was joyous. "I thank you!", he said. "At last, I've avenged my sister's death. Now I can live in peace."

He then gave Jingfei a pill. As soon as she shallowed the pill, she woke up. She felt a bit dizzy and her head ached. "What happened?"

"You were poisoned by the flower.", Qinghong said. "These friends of yours faced a powerful Demon in order to get the antidote."

"I thank you.", she said. "I owe you one."

"It is our duty as disciples of the Orthodox Sects to help those in need.", Feng said. "There is no need to thank us."

Qinghong said, "I must bid you farewell."

Qinghong thus left behind the forest in which he had lived for more than twenty years. He was calm and nothing was bothering him anymore. Feng was sure that Chong would feel the same way after waking up. After more than twenty years of bitterness and revenge, they would live the rest of their life in peace.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"We should rest.", Xiao said. "Tomorrow morning, we must continue our journey to Hongchang Sect."

Xiao lied on the ground and fell asleep in only a few moments. But Feng could not sleep yet. He was gazing at the stars and thinking about Zhaxiang, the 'Sword of Death' and the textbook given to him.

"You really like gazing at the stars", Jingfei said, "don't you?"

Feng smiled. "Looking at the night sky helps me relax and think more clearly."

"Why did you risk your life for me?"

"It’s a matter of principle.", Feng said. "I cannot stand by and do nothing when people are in trouble. When my Master accepted me as his disciple, he said to me that I should have the whole world in my heart. Back then, I did not fully realize what he meant but now I do. Helping people is not just an act of compassion, of goodness. It also helps oneself. I feel good when I help other people, I feel useful, I feel that I have a purpose in my life. By helping you, I also help myself."

Jingfei just smiled. "You are a good person.", she said and went to sleep, leaving Feng alone to gaze at the night sky.

Early next morning, they woke up and continued their journey. The sun was still resolutely below the horizon and the path ahead was dark. The mountains were silhouettes against a crimson sky. At this time of day the air was cool and damp. After walking for hours, they finally reached Hongchang Sect. Its headquarters were surrounded by tall walls made of stone and its front gate was guarded by four Hongchang disciples. One of them approached the two friends and asked, "Who you may be?"

"I am Qiang Feng and he is Zhang Xiao. We are disciples of Qingxao Sect. We were sent by our Masters to talk to Sect Leader Jiao.”

“You may come in.”, the student said.

“I am Li Jingfei. I am here to see Brother Wei.”

The student smiled. “So you are Sister Jingfei! Big Brother Wei has told us about you. Please, come in!”

Feng, Xiao and Jingfei made their way to the Sect’s Main Hall. There, Sect Leader Jiao and Head Disciple Wei, along with a few others disciples, were waiting for them. The Sect Leader was a man in his seventies, with a wrinkled face and long white beard. Wei, on the other hand, was younger; he was in his early thirties. He was tall and sturdy.

Feng and Xiao bowed before Sect Leader Jiao and said, “Greetings Elder.”

“You may get up.”, the Sect Leader said and the two friends did so. “Please, do tell me why you came here?”

“The Demons will attempt to steal the ‘Book of Supreme Power’.”, Feng said and everyone in the room began murmuring. “They have already stolen the ‘Five Elements Scroll’ and attempted to steal the ‘Magic Sword Sutra’. My Masters believe that you should be in alert and enhance your defenses.”

“This is a matter that must be further discussed, but we will be sure to take measures about it. We will not let the book fall into Demon hands.”, Jiao said. He then turned to Jingfei and said, “You must be the sister of Head Disciple Wei. He told me that you would come to visit him for a few days.”

“Indeed.”, she replied.

“Hongchang Sect is open to you. You can remain here for a few days. I guess you and your brother have lots of things to talk about.”

“We do.”, Wei said. “Master, you will have to excuse us. I haven’t seen my sister for years and we have a lot of things to discuss about.”

“Of course!”

Jiao then turned to the two Qingxao students and said, “You two should go get some rest. You have traveled far to come here and you need some rest. I will meanwhile discuss with other Elders of the Sect about the matter of the Demons.”

Feng and Xiao bowed slightly and said, “Thank you.”

The Sect Leader ordered a disciple of his to lead the two friends to their room; the room had two large separate beds and a wooden round table which had a beautiful jade vase on top of it.

“Hope you will be comfortable in this room.”, the Hongchang disciple said and left the room.

Xiao lied on the bed and let out a sigh of relief. “Mission is over, at last! We can now relax. I am sure Master Xuan will be very pleased with us.”

“I am not so sure about that.”, Feng replied. “The Demons may attack at any moment.”

Xiao dismissed this fear of Feng. “Even if they do come, what can they do? We have already warned the Sect Leader about the danger, so now they will be alert. Even the disciples of the Demon King himself cannot beat the whole Hongchang Sect, can they?”

He then closed his eyes and let his limbs fall loose. “I will get some sleep. You too should do the same. After all those days traveling and sleeping on grass, we can at last sleep like normal people on a bed.”

Feng nodded in agreement. Although he was still worried about the Demons, he did need to get some sleep after all this fighting and traveling. He lied on his bed and thought about all the events that had transpired during this journey. As time passed, his eyes felt heavier and heavier. He finally closed his eyes and fell into dreamless sleep.

At midnight, Feng woke up. For some reason, he felt an urge to go out and get some clear air. So he quickly got up, walked out of his room and began strolling; he breathed cool fresh air and cleared his mind of all thoughts and worries. Suddenly, he heard a loud scream. It came from inside the Main Hall, so he ran there, sprinting as fast as he could.