Zhan Zhao Adventures - Chapter Four (Part VII)

Chapter Four: Partridge Sky (Part VII)

The pale, sickly moon on the mountainside moved rapidly through the dark clouds. And the night after the rain was slowly moving toward its peak, toward midnight.
 
Midnight is the time when a person's blood and vital energy are at their weakest, and when yin energy is at its peak; it is also, therefore, the time when the night-patrolling spirits of legend are at their most active.
 
A gust of night wind blew in through the gap of the half-closed temple door, and Huo Little Brother could not help but shudder. His hand was shaking slightly. Because he was gripping the "Yin-Yang Han" so tightly, the blue veins on the back of his hand stood out prominently.
 
The black blade of his "Yin-Yang Han" seemed to be a spirit belonging to this very night. Driven perhaps by his internal energy, it unexpectedly let out a soft, hissing hum, like a demon.
 
Zhan Rifei forced himself to take a deep breath to circulate his internal energy. Although the pain and exhaustion were like a mountain threatening to crush him, his expression remained completely serene. It was as if what Huo Little Brother was about to cut open was not his own body.
 
Amid the pondering silence, Huo Little Brother, who was behind him, said, "Aren't you afraid that I might take the opportunity to drive a sword into your back?"
 
Zhan Rifei said, "Would Brother Huo like to try?"
 
Huo Little Brother unexpectedly did not deny it.
 
Zhan Rifei smiled—at a time like this, he could actually still bring himself to smile: "Aren't you afraid that once he owes you a favor, there will be no one left to repay it?"
 
Huo Little Brother let out a snort and burst into laughter as well: "If you hadn't mentioned it, would I have forgotten? Don't worry, it was no easy task to make a man like you, who never likes to owe anyone anything, owe me a favor. How could I let you die so easily!"
 
As he spoke, his right hand had already raised his "Yin-Yang Han."
 
Silently and flawlessly, the "Yin-Yang Han" sliced open the clothing on Zhan Rifei's back, and immediately after, cut open the wound on his back.
 
The wound was not deep, but the blood suddenly flowed very slowly. Could some strange, magical power be attached to this black short sword?
 
When the sharp blade entered his body, because the blood flowed so slowly, the pain brought by that black short sword must have been unendurable for ordinary men; yet Zhan Rifei did not let out even a single groan.
 
Huo Little Brother pressed down around the wound, using the "Yin-Yang Han" to pull open the bloody cut, but no matter how he looked, he could not see any foreign object inside the wound.
 
However, his hand was quickly stained with his blood. This blood that flowed out actually felt as if it were cold.
 
Huo Little Brother's pupils suddenly contracted; his heart suddenly began to beat furiously. He could even hear his own breathing, and his breaths suddenly became heavy and labored.
 
Zhan Rifei felt that the hand pressing on his shoulder seemed to be trembling slightly. Following that, something hot dripped down onto his neck.
 
Opening his eyes and turning his head back, Huo Little Brother's brilliant, dark eyes and gleaming white rabbit-teeth had almost brushed against his face.
 
He looked at him with some surprise. The pain and fatigue made it impossible for him to react clearly right away. In his daze, he seemed to see a layer of misty moisture veiling those large eyes.
 
"Do the people of your Linglong Mountain Villa actually love to cry this much?"
 
Huo Little Brother ground his teeth, not uttering a sound. It appeared that he was no longer willing to answer Zhan Rifei's question.
 
For some reason, the "Yin-Yang Han" in his hand actually began to grow somewhat hot, as if it were pursuing something and trying to break free from his grasp.
 
With a tiny, ringing click, this peerless, rare weapon of his seemed to strike against something.
 
Very quickly, he saw it—a tiny, silver object, appearing as if it had suddenly popped out out of nowhere; it had originally been embedded within the flesh of the wound, but in an instant, it attached itself to his "Yin-Yang Han."
 
Because of this, an eye—a silver eye—seemed to have suddenly grown upon the black blade! In his daze, this eye actually seemed to give him a quick wink.
 
The small, silver fragment had already been extracted and placed upon the ground, still emitting a kind of wicked light.
 
Huo Little Brother felt the "Yin-Yang Han" in his hand shudder once more. That silver object seemed to possess a kind of wicked attraction, summoning this dark, divine weapon in his hand.
 
"What is this thing?"
 
Zhan Rifei's countenance looked much better now. The gaze in his eyes had also grown peaceful.
 
"What you see is a fragment of the ultimate weapon of the Hanshui Palace over the past century. It has a strange name, called 'Long Phase Yearning.'"
 
Huo Little Brother looked left and right, saying, "I certainly don't see anything extraordinary about it."
 
Zhan Rifei said, "The wonder of this 'Long Phase Yearning' lies in the fact that it is made from heavenly silkworm silk forged with the dark iron from beneath the Hanshui Palace. When wielded, it has a shadow but no form. If driven by the Hanshui Palace's 'Around-the-Finger Softness,' it can completely seize the initiative, leaving enemies utterly unable to guard against it."
 
Huo Little Brother said, "Since it is made by mixing dark iron, why is there not the slightest hint of black?"
 
Zhan Rifei said, "This dark iron is out of the ordinary; it is produced within the rare stones beneath the cold pool of the Hanshui Palace. When viewed in the water, it actually appears black. But the moment it leaves that cold pool, it instantly becomes colorless."
 
He continued, "Its original color is transparent. If it were not for Brother Huo's 'Yin-Yang Han' being forged with Yin-Yang fire, the 'Long Phase Yearning' would not have changed upon contact, and you would not have been able to see it."
 
Huo Little Brother said slowly, "So speaking of it this way, this 'Long Phase Yearning' is indeed a divine weapon, and it must take a formidable character from the Hanshui Palace to command it."
 
Zhan Rifei said, "Correct. This is originally the famous weapon of the Month-Managing Envoy among the four envoys under the Hanshui Old Mother."
 
Huo Little Brother rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the moonlight covering the ground, clearly deep in thought. Reflected by the moonlight and the firelight, something seemed to be flickering within his eyes.
 
He remained silent for a long time before he slowly raised his head.
 
"There have always been many things that, although I could not understand them clearly, you shouldn't think that I can't guess them."
 
"I must ask you, why did you block the people of the Hanshui Palace for me?"
 
"Those two people you blocked for me, just who exactly were they to the Hanshui Palace?"
 
"We agreed to owe each other nothing, yet you dispatched me to deal with the brothers of the Hua family. Was this because, at that time, you already knew in your heart that I could not handle those two people from the Hanshui Palace?"
 
"You yourself were originally capable of subduing the people of the Hua family, isn't that so?"
 
Zhan Rifei did not seem to expect that he would ask this. He did not directly answer his question, but smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps I have already foreseen that in the days to come, there will be many times when I shall ask for your help."
 
Huo Little Brother said, "This reason does not seem very good."
 
Zhan Rifei actually admitted it: "True, it is indeed not very good."
 
Huo Little Brother said, "Fortunately, I just extracted this piece of 'Long Phase Yearning' that pierced into your back for you. Do I no longer owe you anything now?"
 
Zhan Rifei said, "Brother Huo's meaning is—?"
 
Huo Little Brother cut him off, saying, "My meaning is, your wound is still bleeding."
 
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, appearing as if he wished to stop the bleeding for him and cover the torn clothing on his back.
 
Only, this outstretched hand, at some unknown moment, had already turned into a finger strike!
 
Zhan Rifei suddenly felt a numbness in his spine as a force, fine as silk yet completely silent, pierced through his entire body like a sudden clap of thunder and a flash of lightning. He could no longer support himself, and finally collapsed onto the ground!
 
—Who had blindsided him?
 
—And why did they want to blindside him?
 
By the time Zhan Rifei's body collapsed onto the ground, he already knew the answer. This answer was like a louse on a bald man's head; even if he could not see it, he could figure it out just by thinking with his feet.
 
"Coming like a spring dream for how long, departing like morning clouds with no place to be found." These two lines of poetry described respectively the two supreme martial arts of the Linglong Mountain Villa: "Little Tower All Night Hears Flower Words," which worked from the inside out, and "Frightened Swan's Single Glance," which worked from the outside in.
 
Even if he could not guess that this finger force came from the internal energy of "Little Tower All Night Hears Flower Words," he should still have seen that apart from the exquisite deer-hide boots on Huo Little Brother's feet, another object had appeared before his eyes.
 
Huo Little Brother's "Yin-Yang Han" was already pointing directly at his throat!
 
The "Yin-Yang Han" gave a slight, low chant that sounded like a sigh. Under the firelight, the black blade looked like a black demon wearing a cruel smirk. And that demon's breath had already cut into his throat with a faint pain.
 
Huo Little Brother's voice came down from high above. He appeared to be sighing.
 
"A thousand times you ought not, ten thousand times you ought not; you ought not to have let me see your back."
 
Speaking to here, his voice turned severe, yet his hand inexplicably began to tremble slightly.
 
"Just who are you?"
 
"Is your purpose also the 'Chang Hongbi'?!"
 
Without realizing it, his voice had risen very high. Zhan Rifei slightly closed his eyes; his countenance, however, remained very calm. It was only that fatigue and the pain of his injury left him temporarily unable to speak.
 
"Why don't you say something?"
 
Just at this moment, a hoarse voice, sounding like a small child just learning to speak, came haltingly from beside the campfire: "You—, you—!"
 
Although Zhan Rifei was subdued by Huo Little Brother, he had remained perfectly calm and composed throughout; even though Huo Little Brother's "Yin-Yang Han" could slash open his throat at any moment, he had not changed his expression in the slightest. Yet upon hearing this hoarse, weak voice, a flash of intelligence couldn't help but gleam in his eyes; and his countenance, at last, could not resist changing .