Qiao Feng's arrival left A'Zhu somewhat excited.
The jianghu had always ranked Qiao Feng alongside Murong Fu. She knew well how outstanding the young master of her house, Murong Fu, was, and so she had long been deeply curious about this "Northern Qiao Feng," and had long wanted to see just what sort of man he was.
Seeing him today, dignified and imposing, with a bold, heroic air about him, she could not help but admire him inwardly: truly, his great reputation was no empty boast. That single astonishingly powerful move of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms just now was something the young master of her house could never have managed.
Just as she was sighing to herself, Ruan Xingzhu returned from town carrying the unsold tiger-skin chicken feet and said, "There aren't many chicken feet left today. Brother Chun, take them to go with the wine."
Duan Zhengchun's face fell. "Chicken feet again? A'Xing, I love whatever you cook, but we can't eat them every single day, can we?"
Qin Zheng teased, "You've got something to eat, so count yourself lucky. If I were Ruan Xingzhu, I'd make you eat a strike of my Nine Yin White Bone Claw every day, one way or another."
With that, his right hand clawed at empty air, and five deep holes were left in the stone wall.
Duan Zhengchun coughed dryly, took the basket for Ruan Xingzhu, and headed inside, not daring to say another word.
Qiao Feng said in some surprise, "So this is the Seed-Slinging Madman, Duan Zhengchun, that Second Uncle spoke of? His reputation is well deserved indeed. Wherever he goes, he has a sweetheart."
Qin Zheng smiled and introduced them. "Beside me are Xuzhu and A'Zhu. Stay for a meal before you go. A'Zhu's cooking is quite good."
The group exchanged greetings and went into the house to talk.
They were just drinking tea when a scholar suddenly came running in from outside. It was Zhu Danchen, the scholar among Duan Zhengchun's four guards, the Fisherman, Woodcutter, Farmer, and Scholar.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Duan Yanqing has come to make trouble for you! Chu Wanli has sent him the wrong way and tricked him off for now, but it won't be long before he finds his way here!"
Duan Zhengchun frowned. "This Crown Prince Yanqing truly has no sense of reason. It wasn't I who plotted rebellion and seized his throne. Why is he always fixated on me?"
Qin Zheng drawled, "Perhaps because you're the only one he can beat."
Duan Zhengchun was instantly at a loss for words.
Qin Zheng was not wrong. Duan Zhengchun's own elder brother was superb in martial arts. Even when that brother walked out of the palace alone, Duan Yanqing had never dared pick a fight with him. Truly, the plain truth was the most wounding of all!
At the same time, Duan Yanqing was leading several dozen warriors of the Western Xia First Rank Hall in a grand procession toward Little Mirror Lake, under the pretext of "hunting down Qin Zheng."
Hunting down Qin Zheng was out of the question, of course. He wasn't tired of living yet. But turning public authority to private use and bringing men along to make trouble for Duan Zhengchun suited him perfectly!
His thinking happened to match Murong Fu's. At that moment, Murong Fu was leading another band of Western Xia warriors in an assault on pirates on an islet, hoping to make the islet the Murong family's new headquarters.
It was rare for Li Qiushui to give him so many men at once. Not making use of them would be far too wasteful!
Half a shichen later, Duan Yanqing and the others arrived before Mirror Lake Cottage.
Everyone halted. A little girl in purple asked, "Boss, does that Bandit King Qin Zheng really live here?"
Duan Yanqing shot her a glance, thinking to himself that if Qin Zheng were really here, would I have dared come?
But his face wore an expression of complete certainty as he said, "This is news my disciple Tan Qing ferreted out. It shouldn't be wrong. A'Zi, the moment you see anyone come out, poison them. Don't let a single one get away!"
This A'Zi had come over to his banner a few days earlier. She was from Xingxiu Sea, a disciple of the Old Freak of Xingxiu, Ding Chunqiu, and claimed she admired his evil reputation and felt that following him would keep her from being bullied.
Seeing that her skill with poison was superb, Duan Yanqing had taken her under his command. This time, coming to make trouble for Duan Zhengchun, he had brought her along on purpose, intending to seize Duan Zhengchun and then use poison to torment him mercilessly.
A'Zi's eyes lit up as she stared at the bamboo house, a thread of excitement in her voice. "If I can poison Qin Zheng, when I go back to Xingxiu Sea I'm sure I can become the senior sister!"
Not long ago, Jiumozhi had gone to Xingxiu Sea to hunt down and kill Ding Chunqiu. A'Zi had seized the chance to flee with the Divine Wood King Cauldron, and now she was only waiting for word of Ding Chunqiu's death before going back to unite the Xingxiu Sect under her rule.
As the two of them spoke, a Western Xia warrior walked up to the bamboo house and shouted, "Qin Zheng, you are already surrounded! Come out at once and submit, and come back to Western Xia with us to see Her Highness the Imperial Consort!"
Inside the house, Qin Zheng, who had just eaten his fill and was holding a toothpick in his mouth, ready to watch the show, froze at once. "They're looking for me?"
Duan Zhengchun looked at Zhu Danchen in puzzlement. "Where did you get this information? Something seems a bit off!"
Zhu Danchen scratched his head, utterly bewildered. "This... could I really have gotten it wrong?"
Qin Zheng rose with a dark look, spat out the toothpick, and the toothpick turned into a streak of white light that shot forth and pierced the Western Xia warrior outside through the brow.
Watching the Western Xia warrior collapse for no apparent reason, A'Zi froze for a moment, then saw Qin Zheng walk slowly out of the house.
"If you want to capture me, have Li Qiushui come herself!"
A gleam flashed through A'Zi's eyes. She stepped forward with a respectful face and bowed obediently. "Hero Qin, please don't misunderstand. I am A'Zi. We have come to invite you..."
Before she could finish, Qin Zheng raised a hand and struck with Canhe Finger. His true qi instantly pierced through her shoulder.
By then A'Zi already had the poison powder pinched in her hand and was just about to scatter it when the true qi suddenly ran through her shoulder. The pain made her howl, and she clutched the wound.
In the next instant she suddenly realized something was wrong. Wasn't she still pinching the poison powder in that hand?!
Immediately, a tide of black qi spread rapidly across her face. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Watching from the side, A'Zhu was dumbstruck. "The Murong family's Canhe Finger is actually a poison art?"
For some reason, seeing A'Zi fall made her heart clench of its own accord. She stepped forward and began to examine A'Zi's injuries.
Seeing how vicious Qin Zheng was, the Western Xia warriors exchanged glances, then hurriedly looked toward Duan Yanqing, wanting to ask whether they should fight or flee.
But when they turned their heads, they found that Duan Yanqing had long since run off without a trace. A wave of despair instantly spread through their hearts...
Damn it, Duan Yanqing, did you deliberately trick us here to die?!
Once the group came to their senses, they turned and ran. Qin Zheng swept out a palm with his right hand. True qi burst from his palm and spread into a fan, and with that single palm he instantly sent more than a dozen men flying.
Right after, Qiao Feng flew out of the house. He showed no mercy, and in a few palms he killed every remaining Western Xia warrior.
"Amitabha. Sin, sin..." Xuzhu closed his eyes and chanted sutras, delivering the souls of the Western Xia warriors.
A'Zhu glanced at Qin Zheng, supporting A'Zi's head as she pleaded, "Hero Qin, this little girl looks only fourteen or fifteen. With proper teaching she can still walk the right path. Can you spare her life?"
Qin Zheng took out a small porcelain bottle and tossed it over. "Sprinkle this on her wound."
Delight lit A'Zhu's face. She took the medicine and sprinkled it on A'Zi's wound, waited a while, then frowned. "Why hasn't she woken up yet?"
Qin Zheng explained, "No need to worry. This Heart-Piercing, Bone-Gouging Powder is slow to take effect. In a little while the pain will wake her."
The expression on A'Zhu's face froze at once. "Ah??"
Chapter 37