The Golden Flute Chapter 26

Kam Si Ek moved his leg and kicked, sending the two unfortunate men flying. Their heads struck the wall, shattering, and they died instantly. Such was the nature of Kam Si Ek, who hated corruption and misconduct. However, his senior martial sister, the woman in white, had already leaped outside to search for the killer of the See-liong-sam-ci-moi.

Kam Si Ek also quickly ran out after grabbing his bow and arrows. In martial arts, he might not have been highly skilled, but his archery was famous throughout Shansi, alongside his knowledge of military strategy and horsemanship. When Kam Si Ek arrived outside the building, he saw the guards bustling and looking upwards. When he craned his neck, he saw that his *suci* was engaged in a fierce sword fight against a girl whose movements were extremely agile. The moon illuminated the world that night, but from below, he could not see who the girl fighting his senior *enci* was.

"Idiot!"

The woman's voice rang out, clear and melodious, piercing the silence of the night.

"Is this how you repay someone's help?"

"You must surrender; you cannot randomly kill people in our territory,"

his *suci* replied with a firm voice.

At that moment, for some unknown reason, his *suci* suddenly lost her balance, staggering on the rooftop, and a shadow moving like flight snatched the woman's body. Lu Sian was startled to see her opponent, the woman in white, suddenly stop her attack and stagger. She was even more shocked when her body suddenly went limp, and before she knew it, she had been seized by someone and carried away! When she saw that the person carrying her was Kwee Seng, she struggled fiercely but failed to break free. She wanted to stab her sword into the young man's back, but the pressure point strike had left her body too weak. Kam Si Ek had already felt indebted to the woman, who had clearly helped him; if he hadn't been rescued quickly, he felt he wouldn't have been able to defeat the See-liong-sam-ci-moi. He had initially intended to leap up and stop his *suci* from attacking the woman, but now seeing a young man dressed as a scholar carrying the woman, he suspected the youth must be an evil person. He quickly gave the signal to attack the young man with arrows, while he himself drew his bow. However, the young man merely glanced back and smiled. That handsome face shone brightly, and Kam Si Ek's heart was astonished. The youth was incredibly handsome and his smile was very sweet! Surely he was a type of *jai-hwa-cat* (lewd villain) intending to abduct the girl for base and dirty purposes!

"Look out for the arrows!"

he roared, and as his bowstring snapped, five arrows shot toward Kwee Seng's back!

"Excellent!"

Kwee Seng, still glancing back, smiled broadly and praised the skill, for the archery was truly formidable. The five arrows targeted five vital pressure points on his back and legs, and they moved with extraordinary speed!

Quickly, his left hand drew his fan, and he had to exert his *lwee-kang* to fan and knock down the arrows. But now the archers had also begun releasing arrows, while Kam Si Ek, with incredible speed, rained down his own arrows. Kwee Seng was forced to fan again, exerting his *sin-kang*, then with a flash, his body leaped far away, then ran swiftly after floating down, and with a single movement of his legs, he jumped onto the fortress wall. A rain of arrows came again from the left, but Kwee Seng naturally paid little heed to the arrows released by the regular soldiers. With one sweep of his fan, the resulting gust of wind caused all the arrows to deviate from their course or fall to the ground. Then he leaped outside the wall and vanished!

"Suci...! Where are you...?"

Kam Si Ek cried out, but he did not see his senior martial sister. However, he had much work to do, so he did not search for her further. Instead, he quickly organized his subordinates to establish stronger security and ordered men to handle the five corpses lying on the floor of the hall. That very night, he judged five other men who had been injured by his *enci* and used this opportunity to threaten the soldiers with severe punishment should anyone dare commit misconduct. Then he entered his room and sat deep in thought. He realized that not all members of his army were loyal to him, because truthfully, he could not provide them with sufficient wages. Many among them secretly wished to serve Raja Liang or Governor Li, who had also appointed himself as the young king of Shan-si.

"No,"

his inner voice protested.

"Until a leader truly emerges who will ensure the people of Shan-si, in particular, live safely, peacefully, and prosperously, I will not serve anyone!"

Meanwhile, Lu Sian continued to struggle, moving both her legs, and finally, Kwee Seng set her down in the forest where they had rested earlier, releasing the pressure point strike. With her sword held before her chest, Lu Sian leaped forward and snapped.

"Kwee Seng, this time you've gone too far! Why are you interfering with my business? Are you trying to show off your skill?"

"Eh, Sian-moi..., I only wanted to prevent you from causing trouble in someone else's territory, I... I only intended to help you..."

"Who needs your help? Who wants it? Kwee Seng, it seems that besides your weak heart, you also possess the arrogance of looking down on others. What I do, why do you care?"

"Sian-moi, why do you speak like that? How can I not care about what you do? Sian-moi... you already know the feelings in my heart; there is no need for me to hide them anymore. I love you! Now, the burden in my heart is finally released. I love you, and of course, I cannot allow you to be threatened by danger or do things that are improper. Kam Si Ek is a true patriot, a brave and mighty man; he should not be disturbed..."

"Enough! Even if you love me a thousand times over, you have no right to manage my affairs. I am nothing to you, understand? You can love me until you die, but I do not love you! Listen carefully, Kwee Seng, I do not love you! You are indeed handsome, you are indeed brave and mighty, possessing higher skill than me, but you are weak! You are not a true man; your heart is soft, easily swayed. Did you think I loved you? Hmph! I only agreed to accompany you because I desired the skills you promised me in front of my father. Now do you hear? After knowing my stance, will you now withdraw your promise like a coward?"

This attack was incredibly devastating for Kwee Seng, as if thousands of poisoned needles were stabbing his heart. His face was pale one moment, red the next; his body trembled, his lips quivered, his eyes were mournful, and two tears wet his cheeks. Then he gritted his teeth, hardened his emotions, strengthened his heart, clenched his fists, and said while looking up at the sky.

"Very well! You are indeed worthy of being the daughter of Pat-jiu-Sin-ong! I was the fool. Ha-ha-ha, I was the idiot. How could a person like me be worthy of falling for you? No, Liu Lu Sian, I will not withdraw my promise! Whenever you ask, I will impart the skill I used to defeat you on the Beng-kauw stage that time. I truly love you, and you do not love me at all. Ha-ha-ha, so be it, let this greedy heart feel it, let this shallow and self-unaware mind feel it—The Dwarf longing for the moon, ha-ha-ha!"

Liu Lu Sian's heart was immensely pleased.

Indeed, this was the nature of the daughter of the Beng-kauwcu. Perhaps because she had been overly pampered since childhood, or perhaps she inherited the strange disposition of her father, who was famous as an eccentric figure in the *kang-ouw* world, this girl loved seeing men, as many as possible, fall for her. She liked to tease, highlighting her beauty so they would fall deeper, then she would disappoint them, play with them, and seeing them suffer, she would laugh!

"Fortunately, you are not yet so base as to withdraw your promise. Kwee Seng, I demand that promise tomorrow night, exactly at midnight, right here. I will meet you here and..."

"No, Liu Lu Sian. This place is not secluded enough; someone might pass by and see us. Look at that hill over there. It looks difficult to reach, steep and wild. Do not think receiving this skill is easy. I will only impart my skill to you at the peak of that hill. Tomorrow night, exactly at midnight, I will await you there!"

Lu Sian looked toward the east. The sun was beginning to rise, and the silhouette of a hill not far from that spot became visible. The hill had a strange shape; its peak jutted high, shaped like a dragon's head or the head of a strange creature.

"Fine, tomorrow night I will be on that peak!"

Having said that, Lu Sian leaped onto her horse and rode away, leaving Kwee Seng. The young man stood straight like a statue, listening to the sound of the horse's hooves growing fainter and fainter. Then he closed his eyes, his heart feeling raw, as if his chest had been ripped open, and his spirit felt like it was flying away, following the sound of the horse's hooves that carried Lu Sian, the girl who had filled his heart all this time. Suddenly, he laughed and slapped his own head.