The sun brightened the sky; it was early in the morning and Feng and Xiao were following Jingfei. They were careful and kept their distance, so as to not been seen. After walking for about an hour, they saw an amazing sight before them; a city. It looked as if once it had known great prosperity, but now the thousands of houses they could see, although large in scale, were all in various stages of ruin and collapse. Jingfei headed into the city and the two friends followed closely behind. Inside the ghost city, not a sound was to be heard, not even the twittering of a single bird. That place was the most magnificent and the most terrible that Feng had ever seen. The city was extremely dry and the heat was unbearable.
“We are nearing the location of the book.”, Feng said.
“At last!”, Xiao replied and let a sigh of relief. “Then we can have some peace.”
The two Qingxao students used the houses as covers to hide themselves from Jingfei and stepped on their toes in order to avoid being discovered. Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps. They turned around and saw Yasuf. Thankfully for them, Jingfei had not heard the sound nor seen the man.
“It seems that it is in our destiny to meet again.”, Feng said and smiled. “What are you doing here?”
Yasuf was pale and his shoulder was bleeding. “After I returned back to my tribe, I learned that Royal Uncle Ishmael had overthrown the Grand Khan Yasim. I refused to accept his usurpation of the throne and so he sent men to hunt me down. I came here hoping to hide but alas I was spotted by a scouting group and although I escaped, I was injured.”
“Are they still after you?”, Xiao asked.
“Yes. In my tribe, I am respected for my martial skills; my opposition to the usurpation gives hope to those loyal to the Khan. Already, General Astur has defected with his troops and swore to fight against the usurper. So Ishmael wants me dead as soon as possible; about six hundred horsemen are on their way here.”
“Great!”, Xiao said and wryly smiled. “We have to steal the book from Jingfei and manage to evade six hundred horsemen at the same time; this mission gets better and better.”
“What is a city doing in the middle of the desert?”, Feng asked.
“There is an old legend of our people about this city.”, Yasuf replied. “Once, there was an oasis in this area, with lush vegetation, which allowed the city to prosper. Its citizens were all living in outrageous luxury and their Kings were the richest in the world. But their immorality and luxurious lifestyle outraged the Gods; they turned the oasis into desert. Famine and drought ensued and soon civil war engulfed the city. With anarchy reigning, the city’s enemies invaded and sacked the city, killing off its remaining inhabitants. That is the legend and while I do not know if all of it is true, it seems plausible enough. Our people do not usually wander this city because of stories about ghosts and souls of the dead residing here; those who enter the city supposedly anger the spirits of the dead inhabitants. But, from time to time, people like me do enter the city.”
“Aren’t Ishmael’s men afraid of the ghosts?”
Yasuf smiled. “They are. But they are more afraid of Ishmael chopping their head, so they will come here. What about you? Can you tell me what are you doing here?”
“We are trying to steal a book.”, Xiao said. “The ‘Book of Supreme Power’. If it falls in Demon hands, it will be disastrous for the peace of the Martial Arts World.”
“I will help you steal it. It may prove useful against Ishmael’s men.“
The three men followed Jingfei as she walked to the city center. She entered one the houses. She spread the map out on a table and leaned over to examine it. Despite its apparent sturdiness, the table was completely rotten and collapsed under the weight of her arms. She picked up the map and studied it for a moment.
“The book must be here.”, she said. “It is below this house.”
She searched the floor for an opening mechanism. After a few minutes, she found a floor panel below a table and she slid it back. Inside, there was a dusty wooden box. As she was about to open it, she heard the thunderous sound of hooves. Feng, Xiao and Yasuf also heard the sound.
“It must be Ishmael’s men!”, Yasuf said. “Soon, they will be here.”
“We must get the book now!”, Feng replied and barged into the house. Jingfei was surprised to see Feng. She did not expect him to have caught up with her.
Feng attacked at once. He knew that despite his progress, he was still not match for her, so he tried to use her surprise to his advantage. He flashed forward and aimed at her right shoulder. Jingfei would normally have been able to easily dodge such a strike but she was surprised and caught off guard; thus she was not able to avoid Feng’s fist. Feng quickly followed up with a kick and although Jingfei evaded his attack, he managed to snatch the box she was holding from her hands. Jingfei concentrated all her internal energy in her hands and fired an energy beam at Feng; he somersaulted and dodged the beam. Jingfei unsheathed her sword and struck at Feng, who retreated three paces. The two opponents then whirled round and round.
Xiao, seeing the two of them fight, intervened. He swept his sword across at Jingfei's waist. Her sword clashed with his sword and a loud clang sound was heard. Feng found the chance to slash at her back but Jingfei quickly turned around and parried the attack. Xiao attacked once more but with a back kick, Jingfei kicked him on the chest and sent him flying on the floor. He vomited blood and coughed.
“You better give me the book.”, Jingfei said. “I do not want to hurt you, but will be forced to do so if you do not comply.”
Feng sneered. “Even if I have to lay down my life, I will not let you have the book. If the Demon King gets the book, it will be the end of peace in the Martial Arts World. He will terrorize the common people and massacres will ensue.”
Jingfei sighed. “Then, do not blame me for being cruel.”
She raised her sword and charged forward with the force of an avalanche. A loud sound could be heard as she sped forward. Feng stood still. He closed his eyes and calmed himself. He remembered what Master Xuan had said to him when he was training on Qingxao Mountain. “Having a calm mind is of vital importance; if you are furious or nervous, you will make mistakes. Even the tiniest mistake can prove fatal if you face an experienced enemy. Another thing to remember is that you cannot trust your eyes only; you must use all your senses in a battle. Eyes can be deceptive. There is a lot more in a battle than what can be seen with your eyes. You must use your every sense.”
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As Jingfei’s sword approached, Feng slightly raised his ‘Sword of Death’. He concentrated all his internal energy on his sword and circulated his breath as Elder Zhaxiang had taught him to back in the cave. With a gentle but swift movement he parried her attack. Jingfei’s blade was snapped clean in two. She gaped in astonishment. “Impossible…”, she said. She then channeled her internal energy in her hands and fired an energy beam at Feng as she leaped backwards. Feng too was forced to leap backwards.
“What sword are you using?”, Jingfei asked. “No ordinary sword can snap in two my blade.”
Feng smiled. “It is a sword given to me by an Elder. You are welcome to try it further.”
“Do not overestimate yourself. Your skills are still inferior to mine.”
Jingfei sped forward; Feng slashed at her with his sword, but she dodged the strike and began whirling around him. Feng stared at her and was ready to strike any time Jingfei moved to attack. Suddenly, she flashed forward. Feng reacted too slowly and Jingfei slammed her fist on his chest. He vomited blood and let his sword fall from his hand. Jingfei’s right hand then sliced across towards the Feng’s right shoulder. Feng leaped backwards and avoided the fist.
“Stop fighting!”, Yasuf barked. “Ishmael’s men are almost here. If they hear us, we will be dead.”
“Ishmael’s men?”, Jingfei repeated.
“Short story long six hundred horsemen are out for our blood.”, Yasuf explained. “So if both of you do not shut up and stop fighting, they will discover where we are and then we will be as good as dead.”
“Yasuf is right.”, Feng said. “We should stop fighting for the moment and hide. We can fight for the book once Ishmael’s men have left.”
Jingfei nodded in agreement. “Alright. Where shall we hide? They will surely search the house.”
Yasuf thought for a moment. “I have an idea. Follow me!”
Yasuf ran out of the house and Feng, Jingfei and Xiao followed right behind. He barged into another house, one whose shivering walls looked as if they would collapse at any moment. He slid back a floor panel, which revealed a secret cellar.
“How did you know this cellar existed?”, Xiao asked.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been here nor the first time I’ve had to hide.”, Yasuf said. “Let us hide inside.”
The four of them made their way into the cellar. They became engulfed in chilling blackness as there was no light. The whole cellar seemed rotter and its walls seemed as if they would crumble. Spiders laced the walls with cobwebs of intricate beauty.
“We should be safe here, for the moment at least.”, Yasuf said and lied on the floor. “You better sit down. We will have to wait for a few hours, so get used to the idea of being here.”
Xiao too lied on the flood. “Well, I should get a nap then. All this walking and fighting has been too tiring.”
Yasuf laughed. “Indeed. We should use this time to rest. Once Ishmael’s men have gone, I will have to meet General Astur and I suppose you will have to travel too.”
Jingfei sat on the floor and so did Feng. They stared at each other for a moment. Feng spoke first. “Why?”
“Why?”, Jingfei repeated.
“Why are you working with the Demons? They are evil, can’t you see it?”
“What is evil and what is righteous? The ones you call ‘Demons’ simply follow their heart. They do not try to suppress their feelings. They live their lives as they want to, loving whom they want and hating whom they want.”
"What are you talking about?", Feng said. "The Demons kill without remorse, they lust after power and glory and think nothing of the common people. The Orthodox Sects uphold righteousness, stand up for the weak and have the whole world in their heart."
“You view things as if the world is black and white, as if there is one righteous side and one evil side. World is more complicated than that.”
Feng sighed. “You may be right. I may be viewing things too much as black and white, but I do know one thing for certain; if the Demon King Ma Biao gets the ‘Three Heavenly Texts’, the entire world will be in chaos. Thousands will die. You can surely see this. Are you willing to let the world burn?”
“For love, yes.”
Feng was taken aback by what Jingfei said. “Love?”
“I only want to live together with Meng Duo in peace. This can only happen when the Orthodox Sects have been defeated.”
Meng Duo, known as the ‘Demon of Flute’, was one of the three disciples of the Demon King Ma Biao, along with Yang Jiang and Duan Xiren. He had a reputation of being the best flute player in the entire world; his music could bewitch even those most disinterested in music.
“So, you are going to help Ma Biao and his Demons because of Meng Duo?”
“Yes.”
Feng could not understand Jingfei; in his view, putting one’s feelings above the safety of the world and the common people seemed not only irresponsible but also terrible. Master Xuan had taught him to have the entire world in his heart; he had to care about all people. Putting his own feelings before them would be selfish and immoral. Feng could also not understand how one could sacrifice so much and put so many lives at risk for love. To be sure, he had not experienced true love. If he had in the past, after the memory loss he did not remember it. So the whole concept of putting love above everything else seemed utterly foreign to him.
Before Feng could say anything, a loud sound was heard. “What is it?”, he asked Yasuf. “Does anyone else know this place aside from you?”
“I do not think so… or so I hope.”