"Paying allegiance to the Prime Minister is paying allegiance to the government. We are not rebels, but fighters defending the interests of the Sung Dynasty."
"But why ally with the Kin people?" "The Sung Dynasty has no intention of antagonizing the Kin Dynasty, but seeks friendship. We merely support the policies outlined by the Emperor! Tan Tiong Li, you are bold to meddle in our sect's affairs!"
"The affairs of the Ceng-liong-pang are everyone's business who considers themselves fighters intent on expelling the Kin from our homeland. You have changed your stance, there must be a specific reason. Were you coerced by Prime Minister Jin Kui, or have you accepted bribes from the Kin people? Why did you also kill two of your disciples who were investigating your change of heart?"
Upon hearing this, the giant Un Ci Siang became angry and impatient.
"Pang-cu, if this brat is bothering you, let me chase him away for you!"
"Don't chase him away, instead capture him alive or dead because he is a fugitive of the Sung government!" said Gui Kong Sek.
Tiong Li had heard from the people of Ceng-liong-pang earlier that this guest was also an envoy of the Kin commander, so he looked at him with gleaming eyes.
"You are a Kin officer, our greatest enemy!
You are the one who should surrender to us!"
The giant had already unsheathed a large and shiny sharp sword, retorting,
"Rebellious wretch, death is at your doorstep, quit your idle chatter!" He then launched an attack with his sword. His attack was formidable as this giant indeed possessed great strength. Tiong Li dodged and retaliated with a kick that was also evaded by his opponent. It turned out that this giant was a formidable warrior from Kin, possessing a fairly robust martial art skills. However, his opponent was Tiong Li, a young man who had extraordinary prowess, so even though he was unarmed, Tiong Li was not pressured at all. Even when he wielded the Ngo-heng Lian-hoan-kun martial art, the giant was in deep trouble and had to dodge here and there.
The exciting duel drew the attention of all members of Ceng-liong-pang, and seeing that their guest had not yet succeeded in overthrowing Tiong Li, suddenly Gui Kong Seng let out a sharp yell and he had already jumped forward using his sword to join the attack!
At that moment, the disciples and members of Ceng-liong-pang looked perplexed. They did not recognize the swordsmanship their leader was playing! It was not the swordsmanship of Ceng-liong-pang practiced by their leader, but a completely strange swordsmanship to the disciples of Ceng-liong-pang, yet it must be acknowledged that the swordsmanship was indeed formidable! .
Although he was attacked by two people wielding swords and a cleaver while he himself was unarmed, Tiong Li was never pressured. Indeed, both his opponents wielded their swords and cleavers fiercely and quickly, forming two circles of light spinning around him, yet Tiong Li's body seemed to turn into a shadow flickering between the two circles of light.
The cleaver and sword never managed to touch his body and when he used the Thai-lek Kim-kong-jiu punching technique, the cleaver held by Un Ci Siang was knocked loose because his arm was struck by the magical force causing it to shake violently.
In another moment, when Tiong Li turned to strike Gui Kong Sek, this man had already jumped back and together with his guest, he fled! Evidently, both Un Ci Siang and Gui Kong Sek knew that they would not be able to match Tiong Li, so they both hastily fled in chaos! .
"Don't let that Kin man escape!" Tiong Li shouted to the Ceng-liong-pang subordinates and he himself immediately chased Gui Kong Sek. The members of Ceng-liong-pang, who had just awakened from their daze, were stunned and amazed to see how Tiong Li was able to withstand the attack of the two men and now, seeing Un Ci Siang fleeing, they immediately chased after him in droves, brandishing their weapons to join in the attack.
Un Ci Siang was surrounded and went berserk with his bare hands. His frenzy knocked down at least five members of Ceng-liong-pang, but due to their overwhelming numbers, the warrior from the Kin Dynasty finally fell victim to dozens of weapons that shattered his body and he died. After killing Un Ci Siang, the members of Ceng-liong-pang then joined in chasing their own leader who was being chased by Tiong Li.
Panic-stricken, Gui Kong Sek ran towards the cave where he usually meditated. However, Tiong Li kept chasing him and seeing that he could not escape from his pursuer, the leader of Ceng-liong-pang then entered the cave where he usually meditated.
The cave was large and dark, and as the body of the Ceng-liong-pang leader entered it, he was instantly swallowed by the darkness of the cave. Undeterred, Tiong Li pursued into the cave with a cautious and vigilant demeanor. Suddenly, he heard the sound of rushing wind from ahead and his body swiftly dodged to the side. Three flying knives sped past his body and he continued to chase into the cave.
Apparently, the cave was not only wide but also deep and formed a sort of winding tunnel. On the inside, the conditions were not as dark as on the outside because they received light from above, possibly from cracks where sunlight could enter.
As he ventured deeper, he finally arrived at a room and Tiong Li stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide in surprise. He saw the leader of Ceng-liong-pang who was standing next to a man whose hands and feet were shackled, brandishing his sword at the man's chest.
And that man had a face that looked exactly like the leader of Ceng-liong-pang! Now Tiong Li understood. The leader of Ceng-liong-pang he had been chasing earlier was a fake leader, while the real one was being held prisoner in this cave, his hands and feet shackled!
No wonder the leader of Ceng-liong-pang led his men astray and colluded with Prime Minister Jin Kui and the Kin people, as it turned out, he was a fake leader! .
"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill this man first!" the fake leader threatened.
"Hmm, even if you kill him, how will you escape from here?" Tiong Li responded, subtly hearing the sound of footsteps of the members of Ceng-liong-pang chasing towards that place.
"I have a proposal. How about you release him while I let you go, allowing you to leave here and run away?"
The fake leader indeed wanted this. "How can I trust you?"
he challenged.
"I, Tan Tiong Li, am not someone who breaks promises. I swear I will not bother you and will let you leave here if you release the prisoner! If you don't believe me and don't want to, go ahead and do whatever you want, but don't expect to escape from my clutches!"
This threat hit the mark. "Fine, I will release him and you move aside!"
Tiong Li stepped aside to make way for the man who immediately jumped past Tiong Li and ran out of the cave tunnel. Tiong Li paid no more attention to him because he believed that the fake leader would definitely encounter the members of Ceng-liong-pang who were chasing and had already arrived at the front of the cave!
He then jumped to the man who was shackled.
"Are you the real pangcu Gui Kong Sek?"
The man weakly nodded. "Yes, and the man earlier was a henchman of the Kin people who impersonated me. When I was meditating here, I was suddenly attacked and knocked out, rendered powerless."
Tiong Li then freed the man's hands and feet and invited him to step outside. They heard the noise and commotion outside the cave.
"I am your leader! What do you want? Do you want to betray me? Do you all want to die?"
Suddenly, the real Gui Kong Sek jumped forward.
"Don't believe him, he's a liar. and he's impersonating me. I'm the real Gui Kong Sek, who he's been holding captive in the cave!"
Everyone was shocked to see two Gui Kong Sek, but they all believed in Gui Kong Sek whose clothes were worn out and looked thin, so they immediately surrounded the fake Gui Kong Sek. The man used his sword to fight back, but he was outnumbered and now the real Gui Kong Sek had also received a sword from his subordinate and fiercely joined the attack.
Tiong Li just watched. He had sworn not to bother the fake Gui Kong Sek, and he had calculated that the fake leader would not be able to escape because the members of Ceng-liong-pang had arrived in front of the cave. His calculations were exactly right, and now the fake leader was surrounded by many members of Ceng-liong-pang who were helping their real leader.
Even though the fake leader was quite clever, now he faced the real leader who also had a formidable swordsmanship, in addition to the attack from dozens of Ceng-liong-pang members. In the end, he fell and became the target of dozens of sharp weapons, his body was shattered.
Tiong Li wanted to prevent it but it was too late. He only expressed his regret to Gui Kong Sek, the leader of Ceng-liong-pang.
"What a pity, if he was captured alive, we could have asked who the mastermind behind all this was?"
"Forgive us, taihiap. We could no longer hold back our anger."
"Never mind, now pangcu has a new and extremely heavy and important task, which is to clean up the name of Ceng-liong-pang which has been tarnished in the eyes of the fighters."
Glossary
- Perdana Menteri: Prime Minister.
- Kerajaan Sung: Sung Dynasty, a historical Chinese dynasty.
- Kin: Another historical Chinese dynasty, often at odds with the Sung Dynasty.
- Tan Tiong Li: The protagonist's name in the story.
- Ceng-liong-pang: A martial arts sect in the story.
- Un Ci Siang, Gui Kong Sek, Jin Kui: Character names in the story.
- Ngo-heng Lian-hoan-kun: A martial arts technique used by the protagonist.
- Thai-lek Kim-kong-jiu: Another martial arts technique used by the protagonist.
- pangcu: A term of respect for the leader of a sect, similar to "Headmaster" in English.
- taihiap: A term of respect for a powerful figure or leader, similar to "Master" in English.