Black Pearl Chapter 33

Kwi Lan drew a long breath. She could not be angry at this young man, and in truth, she was happy to hear his confession. However, she did not want to remain by Hauw Lam's side forever. She wished to be alone.

"Hauw Lam, there is something more important for you. You must go to your birth mother."

Hauw Lam stared, his eyes wide.

"What...? What do you mean...?"

"Is your father not named Tang Sun and your mother named Phang Bi Li?"

Hauw Lam stepped forward and held Kwi Lan's hand.

"Mutiara, speak truthfully. How do you know my father's name? Indeed, my father was named Tang Sun. I have never heard my mother's name, but you... how can you know?"

Kwi Lan, who now saw how Hauw Lam's face had turned pale and seemed extremely interested, smiled.

"You deserve to be my older brother. Your mother is Auntie Bi Li, who regarded me as her own child. Your father... your father is dead; I saw it myself. Your mother is still alive, her name is Phang Bi Li, and she now lives in Hutan Iblis."

Hauw Lam's face grew even paler.

"In Hutan Iblis...? My father is dead...?"

He felt as if he were dreaming upon hearing this explanation, and he certainly would not have believed it had he not been sure that the girl he had only known for a few days never lied, just as she never felt fear.

"Go, find your mother, and you will hear everything. Your mother only knows that her son is named Tang Hauw Lam. Go to Lembah Air Hijau, at the foot of the northern Pek-liu-san Mountains; there is a forest there that people call Hutan Iblis. Well, your mother lives alone in a hut in that forest, waiting for your arrival. Farewell, we shall meet again someday."

After saying this, Kwi Lan spurred her horse away from the spot, leaving Hauw Lam standing like a statue with a pale face.

"My mother... my birth mother... my mother..."

The young man, usually so cheerful, now only whispered, his eyes wet. His gaze followed Kwi Lan's shadow on her horse, and his spirit felt as if it had flown away with her.

Kwi Lan rode her horse while lost in thought. As soon as she separated from Hauw Lam, she felt how much she had lost a traveling companion who always brought a cheerful atmosphere. However, when she remembered Hauw Lam's declaration of love, she felt disappointed. This extinguished her joy and made her uncomfortable; her heart pounded, and she felt ashamed, not wanting to meet the young man again. There was something else she had been thinking about since earlier. Who was the person who helped her when she and Hauw Lam were in the trap well? Was it the gallant man with the surname Ciam who had rescued the twelve captive girls? It seemed unlikely because, despite his bravery, that man with the surname Ciam was not that highly skilled. The rescuer must have been someone familiar with the situation and secrets of Thian-liong-pang. Kwi Lan, who did not know the roads, was unaware that her horse was running toward the Sungai Kuning, which flowed east of Yen-an. She also did not know that this was the same path taken by Sin-seng Losu's group earlier that morning, heading toward Tai-goan.

Dusk was approaching. She quickly spurred her horse when she saw a village far ahead. This settlement was quite large, and Kwi Lan stayed the night at the village inn. Everyone was amazed to see the beautiful girl riding such a fine black horse, but Kwi Lan paid them no mind. After her experience at Thian-liong-pang, Kwi Lan adopted a cautious attitude and did not want to seek trouble. She began to realize that the world of *kang-ouw* contained many highly skilled individuals. She wanted to meet her birth mother, and according to Hauw Lam's account, there were many skilled people in Khitan, so much so that a dark figure like Jin-cam Khoa-ong was a fugitive there. She would meet her birth mother and, if possible, deepen her martial arts skills.

The next morning, she continued her journey, and it was past dusk when she stopped her horse on the bank of the Sungai Kuning, whose waters were overflowing and immensely wide. She sat on her horse, lost in thought. How could she continue her journey? There was no bridge, no boat, and the place was extremely quiet; not a single person was visible. From there, only distant fishing boats could be seen, and some of them had already lit their lamps. She then rode her horse along the river to the left to look for a boat that might be able to ferry her across, or failing that, she would look for a good place to spend the night and try to cross tomorrow.

Suddenly, from afar, she saw a small boat rapidly approaching the shore. That must be a fisherman, she thought. Maybe he can help me find a large boat to cross. A small boat like that couldn't possibly carry her horse. Kwi Lan sped up her horse toward the shore. However, she was too late because a dark shadow leaped out of the boat and then ran extremely fast onto the land. Kwi Lan was startled. That was clearly no ordinary fisherman, she thought. How could an ordinary fisherman possess such excellent *gin-kang*? She quickly turned her horse, following the direction the person had run.

The weather was starting to darken, and Kwi Lan, feeling intrigued, continued forward on her horse, searching with her eyes. The shadow had vanished. Its movements were too fast, and chasing while riding a horse was very difficult. Besides, Kwi Lan was hesitant to pursue seriously. She didn't know who the person was or why he was running so fast. He was clearly not a fisherman, and she had no business with him. She had only wanted to ask if he could point out where she could hire a boat to cross with her horse.

A bright light emanating from a cluster of mountain rocks on the shore ahead caught her attention. The flickering light, growing larger and smaller, must be the light of a bonfire lit by people. Where there was a bonfire, there were people, and if there were people, it meant she might be able to get the information and directions she needed. Now, the black horse she was riding approached the line of tall, steep rocks, and she rode slowly. It turned out that the bonfire was lit inside a very wide stone cave. When Kwi Lan, still seated on her horse, arrived in front of the cave mouth, she saw five men inside the cave.

Her arrival seemed to have been anticipated because they were already standing, their right hands reaching for the hilts of their respective weapons. The one in front was a young man with long hair, dressed in black, and extremely handsome. His head was tied with a cord, and a yellow gemstone shone on his forehead. The other three men were also ready and stared at her with wide eyes, surprised and angry. The fifth person was a *sai-kong* (monk/priest) whose beard was coarse and sparse like wire; his body was tall and large, and the hilt of a sword was visible behind his back.

"Siauw-ya (Young Master), she is Mutiara Hitam who caused chaos at Thian-liong-pang..."

One of the three men behind the handsome youth exclaimed. The young man looked at Kwi Lan with sharp, shining eyes, then shouted at her, his voice clear.

"What do you want coming here?"

Kwi Lan smiled. She did not look directly at these Thian-liong-pang men, and seeing the gemstone on the Handsome Youth's forehead, she could guess that he must also be a prominent figure. However, she was not afraid in the slightest, and because she had not seen this young man among those who had ganged up on her yesterday, she had no desire to engage them.

"I don't need you; I only need a fisherman who can ferry me and my horse across."

She replied, her voice cold. Although she did not expect help from them, who knew if they could provide information about the fisherman she needed. Before the youth and the three Thian-liong-pang members could answer, the *sai-kong* standing furthest back raised his left hand and spoke.

"Siangkoan-kongcu, allow *lohu* to handle her."

With wide strides, the monk stepped forward. After facing Kwi Lan, he bowed respectfully, smiling, his stiff beard twitching, and his eyes blinking.

"Miss, truly, a Miss so young is astonishing. *Lohu* just heard the accounts from the Thian-liong-pang brothers about your brave actions in facing the Cap-ji-liong. Ha-ha-ha, truly gallant. A young person as gallant as the Miss deserves admiration and certainly does not deserve enmity. Gallant people prioritize friendship among fellow gallant people, so please accept *lohu*'s admiration."

Kwi Lan, seeing the old man clasp his hands together and bring them to his chest while moving to salute, smiled mockingly. With an extremely light movement, her body leaped down from the horse's back, facing the old man, and she bowed while saying.

"You, old man, are too humble."

Although it looked like a bow and a respectful salute, the *sai-kong*'s hands moved forward, and a devastating gust of palm wind struck toward Kwi Lan's chest. The girl merely bowed with a smile on her lips, seemingly unaware of the attack, but the old man felt that the pushing force of his two palms had somehow struck fire and rebounded, causing a burning sensation in his chest. He was extremely shocked, but still felt challenged, and while laughing and saying,

"Miss is truly formidable..."

He opened his fingers and moved his hands forward; the left aimed a pressure point strike toward her shoulder, and the right aimed a strike toward her wrist. This attack was formidable, yet it still appeared as if he were complimenting and touching her out of affection and admiration; it did not look like an attack at all. Yet, if the strike had landed accurately, it would have instantly paralyzed and weakened Kwi Lan's body.

"Totiang (Daoist Priest), why be so reserved?"