"Shibo...!!" Siang Hwi exclaimed and swiftly dismounted from his horse to approach Ban-tok Sian-li who stood upright, her steely gaze fixed on them, especially on Tio ng Li. She paid no heed to her approaching disciple.
"Shibo, we have successfully rescued Princess Sung Hiang Bwee and reclaimed the Mestika Golok Naga!" said Siang Hwi, eager to relay the good news to his master and to showcase the great deeds accomplished by Tio ng Li.
However, his master gave no response and instead advanced towards Tio ng Li and the princess who had also dismounted from their horses. Tio ng Li respectfully greeted her.
"Sian-li, have you been well all this time?" he asked amiably. After all, this woman was the master of his beloved and was deserving of his respect.
But Ban-tok Sian-li looked at his waist where the Mestika Golok Naga hung in its sheath. "Tan Tio ng Li, have you successfully retrieved the Mestika Golok Naga?"
"Yes, Sian-li. Here it is!" said Tio ng Li. "We will return it to His Majesty, the Emperor, along with the princess."
"Give it to me! The sacred sword should not be in the hands of a weak Emperor. Give it to me to annihilate the Kin Clan and drive them out of our homeland."
"Shibo..." Siang Hwi exclaimed in surprise.
"I apologize, Sian-li. But the sacred sword indeed belongs to the palace, and so it should return to the palace."
Suddenly, Ban-tok Sian-li lunged towards Princess Hiang Bwee and with a squeeze of her shoulder, she caused the princess to collapse weakly. Smiling mockingly, Ban-tok Sian-li leaped backward.
"Shibo, what have you done?" Siang Hwi cried out in shock.
"Miss Hiang Bwe...!" Tio ng Li shouted as well, completely unprepared for Ban-tok Sian-li's actions and hence, unable to prevent it. The princess's face contorted in pain and turned deathly pale. The fabric on her shoulder was torn, revealing a bruise that was turning black! Seeing this, Tio ng Li was taken aback as he realized that the shoulder had been severely poisoned.
"Shibo, why did you do this?" Siang Hwi asked confusedly, and to Tio ng Li he said, "Koko, this is the injury from the Ban-tok-ciam (Thousand Poison Needle), there is no cure. Except for Shibo, nobody else can heal it. Within a day and night, the injured person will die!"
Tio ng Li was furious. It turned out that when she attacked earlier, Ban-tok Sian-li had used a poisonous needle, which she had inserted into the princess's shoulder.
"Ban-tok Sian-li, what is your motive for this action? You have poisoned the Emperor's daughter? Why do you want to kill her?" Tio ng Li was ready to attack the woman. But Ban-tok Sian-li defiantly stood her ground and smiled.
"Who wants to kill her? Remember, I have the antidote as Siang Hwi said. Let Siang Hwi himself not get the antidote, so if you want the princess to recover, hand over the Mestika Golok Naga to me!"
"Shibo...!" Siang Hwi cried out again in frustration.
"Quiet! You can't interfere in this matter!" her master snapped, "How about it, Tio ng Li? Are you willing to exchange the princess's life for the Mestika Golok Naga?"
Tio ng Li stood with clenched fists, wavering. He could defeat this woman, but he doubted whether he could force her to give up the antidote. Such a woman had a peculiarly harsh heart, and he might not be able to force her, even at the cost of her life.
"Tio ng Li, don't even think of attacking me. Not only might you not be able to defeat me easily, but even if you win and I die, what's the point? The princess will also die with me. Now, give me the Mestika Golok Naga!"
"Sian-li, don't threaten me. I still have enough inner strength to drive the poison out of the princess's body!" Tio ng Li retorted, threatening her in turn.
"Ha-ha, you can try if you wish to see the princess die quickly. It's not the poisonous gas that will kill her, but her blood is already poisoned. No matter how strong your inner strength is, it won't be able to clean her blood."
Tio ng Li looked at Siang Hwi for her opinion, as the young girl certainly understood better. Siang Hwi nodded sadly, "She's not lying, Koko. The Ban-tok ciam poison directly contaminates the blood and can't be expelled with inner strength. It can only be cured by another antidote that only Shibo has."
Tio ng Li sighed deeply. It seemed the woman's title of Ban-tok Sian-li was not in vain! Her use of poison was extremely wicked. Only a truly formidable opponent would be able to defeat such a dangerous woman. He couldn't imagine what would happen if she got her hands on the Mestika Golok Naga! But regardless, he could not possibly sacrifice the princess's life. "Tan-taihiap, take this heirloom back and give it to Father. Tell him that I was killed by this woman. Father will surely mobilize all troops to capture her and even if she were to fly to the sky, eventually the emperor will be able to capture her!" said Hiang Bwee. Listening to the princess's words, Ban-tok Sian-li was secretly terrified. If Tio ng Li complied with the girl's words, she wouldn't get the Mestika Golok Naga and instead, become a fugitive of the government. The noble girl's words were no empty threat. If the Emperor became angry and mobilized his army to hunt her down, where could she escape to?
But Tio ng Li had a different opinion. He did not want to sacrifice the princess's life. He would hand over the sword and after the princess was freed from the threat of death and returned to the palace, he would start over and try to seize it from Ban-tok Sian-li in the future. He untied the sheath of the sword from his waist.
"Alright, I will hand over the sacred sword. But how can I be sure that you will give the real antidote?"
"Hmm, Siang Hwi is by your side, she would certainly be able to distinguish between the real antidote and a fake one," Ban-tok Sian-li said. "But who dares to guarantee that after receiving the antidote, you won't attack me and won't give the sword?"
"I am a true man. I promise that after exchanging the sword for the antidote here, I will not attack you. But if we meet again in the future, don't blame me if I strike you and retake the sacred sword!"
"Alright, give me the sword and I will give you the antidote," she said.
"Hold on!" said Tio ng Li. "First give the antidote, and once it's confirmed not to be fake, then I will give you this sword. My name and honor are the guarantees of my promise!"
Ban-tok Sian-li then threw a packet of powder to Tio ng Li, and he handed it to Siang Hwi. The girl untied the packet, sniffed the medicinal powder and then approached the princess who was still grimacing in pain. "Princess, drink all of this medicinal powder." She took out a bottle of mild wine and mixed the powder into it. After drinking the medicine, the princess's pain slowly subsided, and the blue-black color on her shoulder also began to fade. Siang Hwi then sucked out the needle with her mouth, bit the needle, and spit it out. Afterwards, she drank the rest of the medicine which was meant for her to prevent the residual poison in the needle from affecting her. After that, she looked at Tio ng Li and nodded.
"Now, the princess is safe," she whispered.
Tio ng Li handed the Mestika Golok Naga to Ban-tok Sian-li who received it with a brilliant smile. She unsheathed the sword to examine it. A brilliant glare was seen when the sword was drawn, and the woman nodded in satisfaction. She then sheathed the sword again, strapped it to her back, and leaped away without uttering a word.
"Shibo, wait...!" Siang Hwi shouted and her master halted her flight, turning around to look at her disciple.
"What more do you want to say?" she snapped. "It's not me who wants to speak, but Koko Tio ng Li has something he wants to tell you!" said Siang Hwi, glancing at her beloved. He knew what was on the girl's mind, so he stepped forward and respectfully addressed the Poisonous Selaksa Goddess.
"Sian-li, Hwi-moi and I are in love and have promised to marry each other. Considering that Hwi-moi no longer has a family, I propose to you as her master to ask Hwi-moi to become my wife!"
Princess Sung Hiang Bwee watched all of this with wide eyes, full of astonishment and horror. How the people of the martial arts world acted when making marriage proposals. The proposal was made between them, openly without an intermediary. It was as if a girl was not being asked to be a wife, but rather a thing to be asked for!
Ban-tok Sian-li looked at her disciple. "Siang Hwi is an adult, she can make her own decisions. Even if I interfered, she wouldn't obey me. It's up to you two!" Having said this, the woman disappeared from their sight.
Glossary
- Shibo: Martial arts honorific referring to a male disciple's martial arts master.
- Sian-li: Honorific term for a female martial arts master.
- Mestika Golok Naga: The name of a sacred sword in the story.
- Koko: An affectionate term used by a younger person to address an older brother or a close older male friend.
- Ban-tok-ciam: A martial arts technique (Thousand Poison Needle) in the story.
- Tan-taihiap: A title or honorific used in the story, exact meaning unknown.
- Kaisar: The term for "Emperor" in the story.