Internal Devils - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Swordsman

Li YunXin was relieved – at least he had found a place to stay.

Those 2 priests who chased him were dead, those constables who saw him were also dead. There may have been someone else who was looking for the Illuminated Jade Slips, but it shouldn’t be easy, since his parents had hidden for years before they were found.

That’s why he was heading for a big city. Without the help of Internet and television, it was almost impossible to find a particular person in a city.

First of all, he needed to figure out what the Illuminated Jade Slips did, and then he must break the restraint on his sea of Qi. After recovering his power, he would be able to make further investigations. He could accept hiding for a period of time, but for his entire life? That would be a waste of this precious life.

Qiao SiFu the driver laughed out aloud: “Hahahah, Little brother, let me tell you something-”

Qiao JiaXin knew what he was going to say – he wanted to tell him who Liu really was. However, she didn’t want Li YunXin to be embarrassed, so she interrupted him: “It’s not your business, Brother Si!”

Qiao JiaXin never feared anyone in the escort team. Qiao SiFu staggered, and soon understood what she was thinking. He winked and smiled at her, and then focused on driving again.

JiaXin blushed, and turned towards the young man. Seeing Li YunXin smiling at her, she turned her head away unconsciously.

Damn…what is wrong with me?

She wanted to wait for the team to camp in the night, and then find a chance to tell Li YunXin the truth alone, so that he wouldn’t be too embarrassed.

So the team kept traveling for half a day.

The sun was moving towards the west. The team stopped to camp and cook. It was always safe to travel between Hun City and Wei City, so there was no need to hurry. Qiao DuanHong was always nice to his team, they usually had 3 meals a day when doing an escort job. Now they were camping on a hill, which was covered by green grass, and had a stream which flowed slowly. They felt their tiredness was wiped out in a instant.

Qiao JiaXin kept glancing at Li YunXin, trying to find a chance to talk.

However, the old priest Liu was talking with Li YunXin all the time, and Li YunXin listened seriously. The old priest felt increasingly satisfied with his new disciple, while the young lady of Qiao family was increasingly sure that the handsome young man was going to step into the trap.

Qiao SiFu walked up to Qiao JiaXin and winked at her: “You see? He might be good-looking, but his brain is not working.”

Qiao JiaXin glared at him: “YOUR brain is not working!”

Qiao SiFu laughed.

After another quarter of an hour, Ms.Qiao saw the young man walking towards the stream behind the hill with a gourd in his hand. The gourd used to be hung on the waist of the old priest – he used it to carry water. She thought for a while, blushed, kicked the grass in front of her, and followed him.

A gourd container.

The young man crouched by the stream, drawing water into the gourd. His hair looked a little red under the setting sun.

Qiao JiaXin looked back at their camp – His father called Qiao SiFu to help him park another cart. When looking back at the young man again, Qiao JiaXin felt strangely peaceful – it felt like they were the only 2 left on the world. The warm setting sun shone upon the ground covered by grass. The stream flowed slowly, and the wind blew gently. The 14-year-old girl was surprised by the sudden feeling of a combination of joy, confusion and nervousness. She didn’t realized the feeling was called love at first sight.

It was her first love.

Her heart jumped like a little deer, not knowing how to walk over, nor how to start the conversation.

She gazed at the young man for a while. Not until he plugged the gourd and stood up did she come to her senses.

The young man smiled at her and asked: “Are you here to get the water too, my lady?”

Seeing the young man behaved calmly, JiaXin calmed down, too.

She was hesitating, but finally she started to talk: “Well, I’m here just to tell you one thing – I know you are not stupid, but I just want to warn you – Don’t believe the old priest, he’s not a leader of any school, he’s just…”

She suddenly noticed it was not good to talk against someone behind his back, so she curled her lips and stood straight: “Of course I could say these before him, but I don’t want to embarrass you. Actually, you don’t need to follow him. If there is no place for you to stay…my home…my home…our escort team is not that small, and we need more people…I’m telling you this because I care about you..”

Li YunXin smiled gently: “Well, I got it. Thank you.”

JiaXin was surprised by his answer: “I talked so much! Were you even listening? I wasn’t joking!”

“I know you were serious. Thank you, again. However, I’m not in good health, so I can’t join an escort team. I may be ill very often. So…thank you, thank you very much for caring about me.”

Qiao JiaXin was really disappointed, but soon she told herself, this is jianghu.

What is more, he looked slim and pale, maybe he really couldn’t work in an escort team.

The young man folded his hands in front of his chest to to pay his respects to her, and then stepped away.

When he had taken only 2 steps, he suddenly turned to JiaXin, and looked at her.

He was frowning, and his eyes were cold. Qiao JiaXin was scared by this change. Before she could ask, she heard the footsteps behind her.

A man was walking towards them through the grass. He wore a blue-gray Taoist robe made of rough cloth and had a sword in his hand.

Li YunXin knew that sword – it was the same as the ones owned by ChiSongZi and KangCangZi.

The man with sword said in a deep voice: “Hah. 2 kids. Come, come with me.”

Unidentified and unfriendly. Qiao JiaXin knew he was not here to make friends. She stood back between the man and Li YunXin. Unlike before, her gentle and straight voice had become alert: “Who are you?”

There was a tiny sword hidden in her sleeve. Her father, Qiao DuanHong told her that they were just an escort team, not heroes, so if the problem could be solved by talking, it was better for them to not use violence.

Thus she just held that sword in her hand, but didn’t take it out.

Then man with sword frowned: “You are refusing the toast for a forfeit.”

Then he pointed his sword at her, and charged.

Li YunXin thought the man was not very skilled in martial arts – at least weaker than those 2 priests who chased him.

Li YunXin’s father had taught him a martial skill called the Power of Water and Clouds. He told him that the skill was “not bad”, it could strength one’s body and soul at the same time, so it was a really good way for a youngster to lay the foundations for his future cultivation.

Li YunXin had trained this skill for more than 8 years, and that’s why he was chased by those 2 priests for 3 days and still didn’t get killed.

Unfortunately, when he activated the painting which was made by his parents in his yard to seal those 2 priests’ spiritual power, they also used a talisman to seal his sea of Qi. He could defeat the man before him if he had his spiritual power, but it was impossible for a 14-year-old boy to fight an armed adult with his bare hands.

Before he could try to block his sword, the man had already hit the right sleeve of Qiao JiaXin, and that made her drop her tiny sword.

The girl screamed in a low voice, and try to dodge his further attack.

Li YunXin held her shoulders to steady her, and dragged her behind himself.

The man with the sword frowned: “Do you really think that I won’t hurt you?”

“There must a mistake, great swordsman.”Li YunXin interrupted him and spread his hands, “We’ll do anything you say, since you’re obviously stronger than us.”

“What?”The man and Qiao JiaXin was both startled. The girl shouted at him in a disappointed voice: “How could you…”

She knew the young man may be weak at fighting, but…how could he be such a coward?

What was that? An instant surrender?

The man looked at Li YunXin and sneered: “You’re sensible about the situation. Now move!”

He waved his sword, and held it reversely. He walked towards the other side of the hill, looking unworried that the 2 youngsters would escape at all.

Li YunXin followed him. Qiao JiaXin pulled on his sleeve: “You, you, you…”

Li YunXin shook his head, saying quietly: “Look over that side of the hill.”

The stream was not close to the camp. Due to shock and fear, the girl didn’t notice anything strange about their camp, but Li YunXin did – No sound of fighting was made, but the camp was too quiet.  The team was chatting all the time while camping and cooking, but now there was only silence. Thus he knew there were more of them in the camp – partners of the man with the sword.

In fact they were already a little bit distant from the camp. The girl, due to fear and shock, did not hear the sounds from their camp, but Li YunXin did. He realized that there were more strangers over there – that this sword-carrying man had partners. There were never any intense sounds of fighting and shouting. A while ago however, those who were camping and cooking were having some conversations, then there were voices of strangers, and then the conversations stopped. From then until now there was only silence.

Li YunXin thought the escort team must have been scared by something.

The girl saw it clearly when they walked up to the top of the hill – the escort team was surrounded by 5 men in Taoist robes.

The guards in the team had their own weapons, but now their weapons were all lying on the ground, and no one dared to move.