The Golden Flute Chapter 32

He recognized that all of Kwee Seng's movements were truly Pat-sian-kun played in such a way that it became an extremely formidable martial art, and he truly saw that if he continued his attacks with Pat-mo-kun, he would always be countered by Kwee Seng because every time he parried using a Pat-mo-kun stance, the sword in Kwee Seng's hand that was parried would bounce back and immediately transform into another move continuing the attack! Pat-jiu Sin-ong let out a loud cry, the shriek of his voice was tremendous, seemingly shaking the earth beneath their feet, its echo trailing long and reverberating on both sides of the peak. Kwee Seng quickly mobilized his sin-kang because his heart trembled upon hearing this high-pitched shriek. Secretly, his admiration grew. This old man was incredibly formidable, and that shriek was undoubtedly the famous Ilmu Coan-im-I-hun-to (Art of Sending Sound to Influence Opponent's Spirit) belonging to the Beng-kauw Leader.

If his sin-kang had not already been extremely powerful, he would surely have been half-paralyzed hearing that cry; in fact, he believed that those without high-level skills, upon hearing this shriek, could have their hearts burst and die instantly! He managed to shield his heart and senses from the influence of the shriek, while his swordplay remained calm, always seizing the opportunity to continue attacks, which he consistently based on the Pat-sian-kun Martial Art. Regardless, Kwee Seng was a mighty warrior; once he promised to use Pat-sian-kun, he would continue using it, even if he were threatened by mortal danger! After the echo of the shriek subsided, Kwee Seng, while thrusting his sword towards the opponent's navel with the Pat-sian-lauw-goat (Eight Immortals Seeking the Moon) stance, said,

"Old man, is it truly necessary for you to assist Pat-mo-kun with Coan-im-kang (Sound Sending Energy) just to defeat Pat-sian-kun?"

Pat-jiu Sin-ong's face flushed red. He mustered his energy to parry the thrust aimed at his navel while replying.

"Pat-mo Kiam-sut has not yet lost, do not be so presumptuous and arrogant!"

However, when Kwee Seng's sword was parried, it immediately bounced back and formed the Pat-sian-ci-lou (Eight Immortals Pointing the Way) stance, thrusting towards the neck. Kwee Seng's movements were so fast and his follow-up attacks so automatic that his opponent had no chance to retaliate. Because it was clear that Pat-mo-kun was always "suppressed"

By Pat-sian-kun, Pat-jiu Sin-ong's heart grew hotter and hotter, making his chest feel as if it would explode!

He roared, and now he executed Pat-mo Kiam-sut extremely quickly in an effort to break through and breach the encirclement of Pat-sian-kun. His sword whirled, forming a bright light, constantly changing shape, sometimes forming swirling circles of light. The Pat-mo Kiam-sut created by that divine elder was indeed tremendous. Yet, Kwee Seng already knew the secret of Pat-mo-kun, because Pat-mo-kun was fundamentally created based on Pat-sian-kun, and Kwee Seng was a master of Pat-sian-kun. Thus, this divine youth could move his sword in a way that always overcame the opponent's movements, always encircling and always suppressing; he was attacking most of the time. The circles formed by the swirling light of his sword were wider and broader, seemingly "engulfing"

Pat-jiu Sin-ong's circle of light!

They fought for over two hours, and throughout this time, Pat-jiu Sin-ong consistently used Pat-mo-kun, while Kwee Seng used Pat-sian-kun. Although Kwee Seng also never managed to touch his opponent with his sword, in this two-hour match, it was clear that Pat-sian-kun was superior because eighty percent of the time Kwee Seng was attacking, while his opponent was always forced to defend, occasionally retaliating with meaningless counter-attacks. Pat-jiu Sin-ong grew increasingly angry. Not angry at Kwee Seng, but frustrated because Pat-mo Kiam-sut truly could not overcome Pat-sian-kun. Indeed, the nature of this Beng-kauw leader was strange; he refused to be defeated. He actually liked Kwee Seng very much, and would even be overjoyed if his only daughter could become the wife of this Kwee Seng, whom he admired. However, if he had to lose, that was another matter! This character trait seemed to have been passed down to Lu Sian.

"Kwee Seng! If Pat-mo-kun cannot overcome Pat-sian-kun, that is still not enough reason for you to pass it down to my daughter! What is the meaning of Pat-sian-kun, which, even if slightly superior and capable of defeating my other skills, is not enough—not only Lu Sian, but I myself would discard all my martial arts and only study that one skill, Pat-sian-kun!"

Having said that, the old man now spun his sword so fiercely that the swirling light came in waves, intending to swallow Kwee Seng! Alongside the waves of swirling sword light, a roaring wind could be heard sweeping through as the old man's left hand also struck out with long-distance pushes containing extremely powerful striking wind!

"Hey... hey...! Old man, is your head on fire? The heart may be hot, but the head must remain cool!"

Kwee Seng was extremely busy spinning his sword to protect himself while uttering words of warning.

"Ha-ha-ha, young man, are you starting to be afraid?"

The word 'fear' was taboo for all brave men, Kwee Seng included. Hearing himself accused of fear, his heart burned fiercely.

"Who is afraid?"

He snapped, and his gaze flashed rapidly in an attempt to counter the attack. However, Pat-sian Kiam-sut was incomplete if it had to deal with the wave of sword art attacks, especially when assisted by the powerful striking wind from the left hand. Kwee Seng continued to defend using the Pat-sian Kiam-hoat technique, and although he was able to block the wave of attacks, he was pushed back and forced to retreat towards the black ravine!

"Ha-ha-ha, Kim-mo-eng! Is this all your skill amounts to? Do you only rely on Pat-sian-kun to claim mastery and raise your name as a divine hero? Ha-ha-ha, truly laughable!"

Pat-jiu Sin-ong burst into laughter.

Although Kwee Seng had received rigorous training since childhood, he was still a young man, and compared to Pat-jiu Sin-ong, he certainly lacked experience and cunning. He did not realize at all that the old man was deliberately attacking him with choice martial arts to pressure him, and intentionally heating his temper so that he would use his hidden skills. The old man, who was hungry for martial arts knowledge, was using all this to lure out his secret techniques! Kwee Seng did not suspect this, so upon hearing the mockery, he shouted loudly and suddenly a whistling wind swept out from his left hand, which had already drawn his fan! Now he felt complete! His right hand held the sword, executing Pat-sia Kiam-hoat, while his left hand held the fan, executing the Ilmu Kipas Lo-hai-san-hoat! It was incredibly formidable.

However, the combination of sword art and fan art that had elevated his name, earning him the nickname Kim-mo-eng, could only block Pat-jiu Sin-ong's wave of attacks, without being able to counter much. Because he did not want to be continuously pushed towards the edge of the ravine, which was only three meters behind him, Kwee Seng was forced to change his sword movements, and now his sword began executing the Cap-jit-seng-kiam Sword Art, which he rarely used because this sword art was a secret technique that formed the core essence of his hidden sword skills. Seeing the youth bring out his hidden sword art, Pat-jiu Sin-ong secretly became overjoyed. He knew that defeating this youth would not be easy, and his intention was indeed to defeat him quickly before draining and studying the youth's skills, which were truly choice techniques.

The fight was fierce, and Kwee Seng secretly had to admit that in his entire life, this was the first time he had met such an extraordinarily strong opponent. He even had to concede that compared to Ban-pi Lo-cia, this Beng-kauw leader was slightly stronger. Although he had exerted all his skill and energy, he still could not push the fight back to the center. Especially when he suddenly remembered the crazy nature of this old man, who wanted to collect all the great skills in the world, Kwee Seng, realizing he was being lured, quickly disrupted the Cap-jit-seng-kiam movements with other martial arts. Seeing this change, Pat-jiu Sin-ong's heart, which had been overjoyed, became disappointed, and his anger flared, causing him to intensify his movements to pressure and suppress Kwee Seng, forcing the youth to rely on Cap-jit-seng-kiam again.

Now, over three hours had passed, and dawn was beginning to break. Just as Kwee Seng was heavily pressured, the youth suddenly shouted loudly and staggered backward. Earlier, while he was busy defending himself against the wave of attacks, his ear suddenly caught a whizzing sound from the left. He was greatly startled, realizing that extremely fine hidden weapons were raining down on him. He quickly fanned his fan and managed to deflect many fine needles, but one needle still managed to penetrate his shoulder, causing intense pain. His shoulder immediately became stiff and half-paralyzed, and an itching sensation proved that the needle contained wicked poison. Kwee Seng staggered backward and was forced to release the sword in his right hand, which had become paralyzed, and at that moment, he was again showered with even more needles.

In this staggering state, Kwee Seng, knowing that the needles were extremely dangerous, deflected them with his fan while leaping backward, but he forgot that when he had staggered backward earlier, he had approached the ravine, leaving only a meter of distance. So, when he jumped backward while deflecting with his fan, he did manage to free himself from the attack of the hidden needles, but he could not prevent his body from plunging into the ravine, spiraling downward uncontrollably! A terrifying scream was heard from behind the bushes, and Lai Kui Lan emerged, running to the edge of the ravine, weeping.

"You damned coward!"

Snarled Pat-jiu Sin-ong, running and slamming his sword towards the black shadow that had just launched the hidden needles at Kwee Seng.

"Locianpwe, I was helping you..."

The shadow, who was none other than Bayisan the Khitan Man, dodged while protesting. But Pat-jiu Sin-ong Liu Gan paid no attention to the protest.

"Who needs your help? You treacherous coward deserve to die!"

His sword swept out again, but he was astonished when the black shadow managed to dodge once more. Twice his attacks had been evaded! This indicated that this young man was no ordinary person.

"Who are you?"

He snapped, holding back his attack because the youth's movements caught his attention, making him curious who this young man was who could evade him twice.

"My name is Bayisan from Khitan, Kwee Seng's great enemy..."

"Damned Khitan man! You acted like a coward!"

Pat-jiu Sin-ong attacked again, this time more fiercely. Bayisan panicked and realized he could not trifle with this old man, so he quickly jumped backward and fled into the darkness. Pat-jiu Sin-ong chased after him, cursing.

Meanwhile, Liu Lu Sian, whose face was pale witnessing Kwee Seng plunge into the black ravine, which could only mean death, was surprised to see a girl in white clothes run to the edge of the ravine weeping. When she approached, she was startled to recognize the woman as the white-clad woman she had faced on the rooftop of General Kam Si Ek's fortress—the girl who was Kam Si Ek's suci (senior martial sister)! At that moment, Lai Kui Lan turned around, her cheeks wet with tears, and scolded Lu Sian. Lu Sian, remembering that the girl was the senior martial sister of Kam Si Ek, whom she admired, replied gently,

"Good Cici, if you have been watching since the beginning, you must know that neither I nor my father caused Kwee Seng to fall into the ravine, but rather a person who claimed to be Bayisan and whom Father is now chasing. However, you, how do you know Kwee Seng and why are you weeping for him?"

Suddenly, Kui Lan's face turned extremely red. She was an honest girl, so bracing herself, she said,