After that, Tiong Li bid his farewell and was escorted out of the Ceng Iio ng-pang territory by its leaders and members who were deeply grateful. Without the intervention of the young warrior, Ceng-liong-pang could have already deviated from its original path and become corrupted!.
Tiong Li continued his journey, his heart filled with worry about how the Kin people seemed to be earnestly striving alongside Prime Minister Jin Kui to wipe out the patriot fighters.
-0odwo0- Ban-tok Sian li Souw Hia n Li lived in Death Valley, a steep and dangerous valley by the Yang-ce River. This place was named as such due to its precipitous hills and ravines, making it incredibly perilous. Ban-tok Sian-li had a magnificent house in this deadly place, where she lived with her disciple, The Siang Hwi, and several female servants.
Around her house were small huts, which served as the homes of her thirty or so subordinates. These women, who were also disciples trained by The Siang Hwi on behalf of their master, ranged from twenty to thirty years old.
Although it was called Death Valley, parts of it were incredibly fertile, allowing them to cultivate crops. Some of them even fished in the Yang-ce River daily.
One day, after bathing, Siang Hwi met her master on the front porch. Ba n-tok Sian-li Souw Hian Li had also bathed that morning and looked fresh, causing Siang Hwi to admire her. Her master always appeared youthful, fitting to be her elder sister with only a year or two of difference. However, her master was actually ten or eleven years older than her.
"Good morning, subo."
"Good morning, Siang Hwi. Why do you look a bit pale and gloomy?" "I could not sleep well last night, subo. I had a terrible nightmare that kept me awake."
Her master smiled. "Oh, you're just like a child, Siang Hwi. You are letting a dream affect your sleep?"
"I don't know, subo. But that dream was truly unsettling. The Yang-ce River overflowed and the flood waters swept away everything here!"
The smile on Ban-tok Sian-li's face widened.
"Silly child! How can the Yang-ce River possibly rise to this valley? Even if a flood did occur, it's impossible for the river water to reach this high place!"
Just as their conversation reached this point, there was suddenly a commotion and cheering. The entire Death Valley crew was thrown into chaos because the area was suddenly invaded by a large military force! No less than a hundred soldiers from the Sung Dynasty stormed the place, and without further ado, they launched their attack.
Siang Hwi and Ban-tok Sian-li quickly ran out with their swords, only to be greeted by Kui To Cin-jin and Tang Boa Lu Si Skull Face!. A fierce battle ensued between Ban-tok Sian-li and Tang Boa Lu, while The Siang Hwi engaged in combat against Kui To Cin-jin, who was armed with a steel chain.
"Capture the rebels!" "Destroy them!" These shouts echoed, and Ban-tok Sian-li felt no need to ask further. Indeed, she now sympathized with the fighters; ever since the incident in the royal city, she had been considered a rebel herself after defending the slain An Kiong, a wealthy man from the royal city.
Therefore, she fought fiercely, demonstrating her full martial prowess to defeat her opponent. However, her opponent, Skull Face, was on par with her, making the battle incredibly intense.
Meanwhile, the Sung Dynasty soldiers, upon realizing that their opponents were all young and beautiful women, were thrilled and tried their best to capture them alive. Since there were over a hundred of them, far outnumbering the thirty members of Death Valley, they quickly overwhelmed their opponents.
The Siang Hwi, facing Kui To Cin-jin, was overwhelmed. This monk-like man armed with a steel chain was incredibly skillful. His rat-like face was now smiling, and his long beard was swinging. Although his body was thin, his chain was extremely powerful, and each time it met with her sword, Siang Hwi could feel the heat and severe tremors in her hands.
After fifty moves, Siang Hwi could no longer hold on.
"Trangggg !" Her sword clashed loudly with the steel chain, and it slipped out of her hands. Before she could dodge, a kick sent her flying, followed by a blow that left her immobile.
By that time, most of the Death Valley members had been captured, and some were severely injured and killed. However, more were captured alive.
Seeing this unfavorable situation, Ban-tok Sian-li spun her sword at high speed, forcing her opponent to retreat. She took this opportunity to leap far back and fled. She did not want to be captured or killed, as she knew that they were losing.
In the end, all members of Death Valley were defeated. Twenty were captured alive and found themselves in the grips of the victorious soldiers. Kui To Cin-jin captured Siang Hwi because he knew that his deceased disciple, Jin Kiat, had once been infatuated with this girl. It seemed like she should be held responsible for this. Thus, he intended to take her to Prime Minister Jin Kui for trial, as her master had escaped.
They then looted the place completely, and the soldiers set fire to the grand house and all the surrounding huts.
Kui To Cin-jin paid no attention to the fate of the Death Valley members. He handed them over to his men, who were like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, to toy with and rape them until they were satisfied. Then, they left them to die there. Seeing this, Skull Face Tang Boa Lu showed no concern at all.
The Siang Hwi, witnessing all this, was heartbroken and secretly swore to take revenge on the mastermind, who she suspected was none other than Prime Minister Jin Kui. However, at that moment, she was completely powerless, a captive of Kui To Cin-jin.
Although she was not bothered and Kui To С in jin prohibited the soldiers from harassing her because she was to be delivered to Prime Minister Jin Kui for trial, her hands were tied and she was put onto a horse in front of Kui To Cin-jin, lying across the horse's back.
Kui To Cin-jin and Tang Boa Lu rode at the front of the troop. They were pleased to have successfully eradicated the rebels in Death Valley. Prime Minister Jin Kui entrusted his trusted warrior, Kui To Cin-jin, to lead the attack, and remembering that Bantok Sian-li was very formidable, he asked Skull Face Tang Boa Lu to assist him.
And indeed they were successful. Although Ban-tok Sian-li managed to escape, her disciple was captured, and all their subordinates were completely wiped out!.
Neither of these two martial artists had any idea that when they reached a secluded path and passed by a young man wearing a straw hat and covering his face with it, the young man began to trail them from behind. Little did they suspect that the young man was the one they had been searching for, Tan Tio ng Li.
Tan Tio ng Li was on his way to rescue Princess Sung Hiang Bwee who had been kidnapped and taken to the Kin region. He had just left Ceng-liong-pang when he saw the military troop from afar. He covered his face with his hat, and to his surprise, he saw The Siang Hwi lying across Kui To Cin-jin's horse!. He realized that the girl was a captive, so he quickly began to trail them. Using shortcuts, he even managed to get ahead of them and climbed up a tree by the roadside.
He had calculated everything carefully, so when the troop passed by, and precisely when the horse ridden by Kui To Cin-jin was beneath the tree, the young man leaped down. Like a massive eagle, he snatched Siang Hwi off Kui To Cin-jin's horse, and before the monk could react, Siang Hwi was already in his arms!.
Seeing who had snatched his captive, Kui To Cin-jin was taken aback and quickly shouted,
"Capture that man !! "
Tang Boa Lu was the first to give chase with his leaps, but Tiong Li, who had already untied the girl's hands, turned around and launched a Thai-lek Kim-kong-jiu strike at Skull Face. Tang Boa Lu was shocked and parried with all his might. "Desssss !"
The two powerful internal energies met in mid-air, and as a result, Skull Face nearly stumbled backwards!.
"Let's go!" Tio ng Li said, holding Siang Hwi's hand and leading her away.
Seeing the young man's skill, Skull Face felt horrified about confronting him alone, while the others were not skilled enough to join the pursuit.
Reluctantly, Kui To Cin-jin could only swear and encourage them to give chase. However, all their efforts were in vain. The ones they were chasing disappeared without a trace. With a heavy heart, Kui To Cin-jin had no choice but to lead them back to the royal city to report to Prime Minister Jin Kui that the extermination mission in Death Valley was successful, but Ban-tok Sian-li and her disciple had managed to escape.
-o0odwo0o-
Tiong Li stopped running and looked at Siang Hwi, who was panting heavily from the fast escape. He saw her face was pale, and her beautiful face was covered with deep sorrow.
"Hwi-moi....." he called out, looking at the girl with sympathy.
"Li-koko !" And suddenly, the girl burst into tears.
Tiong Li was shocked and hugged her, "Hwi-moi, what's wrong?" Siang Hwi cried on the young man's chest, forgetting that she was in someone's arms. She just wanted to vent all her sorrow at that time, and to her, the young man's chest was a safe and comforting place. Knowing that the girl had just experienced a traumatic event, Tiong Li simply let her cry, even restraining himself from asking about her absent master.
After her tears subsided, Siang Hwi realized that she was in Tiong Li's embrace. She pulled away, noticing that the front of Tiong Li's clothes was wet from her tears.
"Ah, I'm sorry, koko, I made your clothes wet."
Glossary
- Tiong Li: The protagonist of the story. A skilled martial artist.
- Ceng Iio ng-pang: A territory in the story's world.
- Kin people: Referring to a group or faction in the story's world.
- Ban-tok Sian li Souw Hia n Li: A character in the story; Siang Hwi's master.
- Death Valley: The English translation of "Lembah Maut", a perilous location where Ban-tok Sian li Souw Hia n Li lives.
- The Siang Hwi: A disciple of Ban-tok Sian li Souw Hia n Li.
- Yang-ce River: A river in the story's world.
- Prime Minister Jin Kui: An antagonist in the story. Prime Minister of the Sung Dynasty.
- Kui To Cin-jin: A character in the story; a soldier of the Sung Dynasty. Known for his rat-like face and long beard.
- Tang Boa Lu Si Skull Face!: A character in the story. Known for his skull-like face.
- Thai-lek Kim-kong-jiu: A martial arts move used by Tan Tiong Li.
- An Kiong: A wealthy man from the royal city who was defended by Ban-tok Sian-li.
- Tan Tiong Li: A character in the story who is the object of a search.
- Princess Sung Hiang Bwee: A character in the story; a princess who was kidnapped.