Xiao Li Fei Dao (Duo Qing Jian Ke Wu Qing Jian)
Chapter 19: Impossible to Explain
Original novel written by Gu Long
Fan translation by Meh ()
Xin Me is also quite sure that the porridge has no poison. But he is a monk after all. So he only took two sips when Tian Qi finished the whole bowl.
Tian Qi smiled. "At this rate, we should be on Mt. Song(where Shaolin is located... and ½ hour driver from my hometown in China, I might add) by tomorrow morning."
Xin Mei also looked relieved. He said, "There are bound to be some disciples coming to greet us these couple of days. As long as..."
He suddenly stopped talking. His body started to shake, dropped his bowl, spilling porridge all over his blouse.
Tian Qi's face became pale. "Reverend.... You..."
"There is poison in this soup?"
Xin Mei sighed. Unable to speak.
Tian Qi grabbed Li Xun Huan's shirt. "Look at my face. Is my face..."
He suddenly stopped, because he knows there's no need to ask.
Li Xun Huan sighed. "Although I've always found you disgusting, I still don't want to see you die."
Tian Qi's face has no colors. His body shaking, staring at Li Xun Huan. Then he laughed, "Although you don't want to see me die, I want to see you die! I should've killed you a long time ago!"
Li Xun Huan said, "You think it's a bit late to kill me now?"
Tian Qi bit his teeth. "That's right. It really is late to kill you know. But fortunately, not too late."
His hands grabbed Li Xun Huan's throat.
Ah Fei stood up.
His face looks very pale, but his body is straight.
Ah Fei circled the room twice, then asked, "Do you think he can arrive at Shaolin safely?"
Lin Xian Er said, "You really can't go three sentences without bringing up Li Xun Huan, can you? Can't you talk about something besides him? Why don't you talk about me? Or yourself?"
Ah Fei looked at her calmly, then asked, "Do you think he can safely arrive at Shaolin?"
No matter what Lin Xian Er says, he still only has that one sentence.
Lin Xian Er laughed. "Oh, you! I can't do anything about you, can I." She pulled Ah Fei down to sit beside her, then said sweetly, "Don't worry. He's probably having tea with Reverend Xin Hu right now. Shaolin's tea is very famous, you know."
Ah Fei finally calmed down, and even smiled. "From what I know, even if he's captured, he still wouldn't drink tea."
Li Xun Huan couldn't breathe.
Tian Qi's face also looked worse and worse, also can't seem to breathe. But he seemed unable to release his hands even in death.
Li Xun Huan only felt that everything became dark, that Tian Qi's face became more and more distant. He knows he's about to die.
In this situation, he thought he would think about a lot of things, because someone once told him that.
Yet he didn't think about anything. No painful memories. Just something very funny. He almost laughed.
He never thought he'd die with Tian Qi. Looks like Tian Qi will accompany him on the road to the underworld.
Only to hear Tian Qi said, "Li Xun Huan. You really have a lot of breath. Why won't you just die?"
Li Xun Huan originally wanted to say, "I'm waiting for you to die."
But he can't possibly say anything at this moment. He can't even breathe.
Suddenly, he heard a loud noise, seemingly far, far away, but seemed to be from Tian Qi.
Then everything became bright again.
He saw Tian Qi.
Tian Qi has fallen in the carriage seat. His dead eyes still glaring at Li Xun Huan.
Looking at Xin Mei's irregular breathing, it seems he just used quite a bit of strength.
Li Xun Huan looked at him for a while, then asked, "Why did you save
me?"
Xin Mei didn't respond. Instead he unsealed Li Xun Huan's pressure points. "Before Five Poison Kid comes, run away."
Li Xun Huan did not even move. "Why do you save me? Are you certain now that I"m not the Plum Flower Bandit?"
Xin Mei said, "Monks try not to have too much blood on their hand before death. No matter who you are, just go."
Li Xun Huan looked at his black face, then sighed. "Thank you. Unfortunately, I can do many things, but escaping is not one of them."
Xin Mei said in a hurry. "This isn't a time to be a hero. Your inner strength hasn't recovered yet. You can't beat him."
Suddenly the horse gasped. The driver yelled, and the carriage rammed into the tree.
Xin Mei lied on the side of the carriage, asking, "Why are you still here? Do you want to save me?"
Li Xun Huan said calmly, "If you can save me, why can't I save you?"
Xin Mei said, "But I'm not far from death. What does it matter when I die?"
Li Xun Huan said, "But you haven't died yet, right?"
He stopped talking. Instead simply took out a dagger.
A light, thin dagger.
A Little Li's Flying Dagger!
Li Xun Huan's lips seemed to be smiling.
The carriage lies on its side. The wheel kept spinning, making an annoying creaking sound. At this wild place, the sound is excruciating.
Li Xun Huan said calmly, "This wheel really needs some oil."
At this point, he actually thinks whether the wheel needs oil or not! Xin Mei found that this person is strange beyond belief.
He's lived for sixty years, but has never met someone like him.
This time Li Xun Huan carried him out of the carriage. The cold wind cut through their faces.
Xin Mei said, "You don't have to do this. Just... go."
There's no moon tonight. No matter how hard he tries, Xin Mei couldn't see a thing.
Only to hear Li Xun Huan yell, "Are you here, Five Poison Kid?"
No response.
Li Xun Huan said, "If you're not here, then we'll be leaving."
Xin Mei asked, "Where are we going?"
"Shaolin temple, of course."
Xin Mei was shocked. "Shaolin?"
Li Xun Huan said, "We spent all that effort just to get to Shaolin, remember?"
Xin Mei said, "But... but you don't have to go now."
Li Xun Huan said, "Actually, I must go there."
"Why?"
"Because only Shaolin has the antidote to your poison."
Xin Mei is bewildered. "Why save me? I'm your enemy."
Li Xun Huan said, "I save you, only because you're at least a human being."
Xin Mei sighed. "If we really do get to Shaolin, I'll tell everyone you're innocent. I know you can't be the Plum Flower Bandit."
Li Xun Huan just smiled. He didn't say anything.
Xin Mei said, "Unfortunately, by carrying me, you'll never reach Shaolin. Although Five Poison Kid has not shown himself, he's not going to let you get away."
Li Xun Huan coughed lightly.
Xin Mei said, "With your lightness kung fu, you might be able to leave alone. Why carry me? As long as you have this thought, I'm already very grateful."
Only to hear someone laugh. "Wow. A reverend of the Shaolin actually became friend with a womanizing drunk Tan Hua. Who would believe this?"
The laughter seemed close one moment, far away the next. It's impossible to tell where it's from.
Xin Mei suddenly asked, "Five Poison Kid?"
That voice replied, "How's that porridge? Tasty?"
Li Xun Huan said, "If you want me die, why don't you come out and take it?"
Five Poison Kid said, "I don't need to show myself to kill you."
"Really?"
"Until today, I've killed three hundred and ninety two people. Not only did none of them ever see me, they couldn't even see my shadow."
Li Xun Huan smiled. "I was told that you're a midget, and so ugly you won't let anyone see you. Looks like it's true."
After a moment, he heard Five Poison Kid say, "I really owe it to you to keep you alive til tomorrow morning."
Li Xun Huan laughed. "Of course, I won't die before tomorrow morning. But I can't say the same for you, I'm afraid."
Before he stopped laughing, he heard a flute.
He suddenly saw many big and small shadows on the snow. He can't tell what they are. Whatever they are, he has to hold his breath.
Xin Mei said, "When five poison appears, people's bodies decay. If you don't leave now, when will you leave?"
Li Xun Huan acted as if he didn't hear anything. Then said, "I heard he has thousands of poisonous insects, how come I only see a few? Did the others all die?"
The flute noise became quicker. Some of those insects crawled onto their feet. Xin Mei almost threw up.
Only to hear Five Poison Kid laugh. "These are my special insects, combined from seven different poisons. Not only do they eat flesh, but afterwards, they'll even eat your bones."
Before he finished, a dagger flashed!
Little Li's Flying Dagger has been
released!
Xin Mei almost yelled out loud.
He knows that Li Xun Huan's dagger is their only hope. But Li Xun Huan can't even see his target.
If this dagger misses, they'll both die.
He's obviously gambling with their life here.
Their chances really are slim.
Xin Mei didn't think Li Xun Huan would take such a big risk.
At this moment, the dagger's glow disappeared into the darkness. But the darkness suddenly let out a short yet loud scream!
Then a person came out from the darkness.
This person looks like a little kid. He wears a short blouse, showing his little legs. Even in this winter condition, he doesn't seem cold.
His head is small, but his eyes are bright.
His eyes are filled with disbelief and anger, staring at Li Xun Huan. He wants to say something, but nothing will come out.
Xin Mei then noticed Little Li's Dagger on his throat. He couldn't help but pull out the dagger. When he did this, blood spilled out.
Five Poison Kid finally said, "What a venomous dagger."
By this time the insects on the has crawled onto Li Xun Huan and Xin Mei. But they can't even move.
Little Li's Dagger might have no equal in the world, but they'll still probably be eaten.
Who'd have thought that when Five Poison Kid's blood spilled out, those insects suddenly shot over to his throat.
In a short time, his body disappeared. Yet after those insects ate him, they also stopped moving!
It really is fitting that Five Poison Kid would die by his own
poison.
Xin Mei finally let out a sigh of relief. "Not only is your dagger without equal in this world, so is your composure."
Li Xun Huan smiled. "It's no big deal. I just figured these insects must follow human blood. Actually, I was quite scared too."
"You were actually scared?"
Li Xun Huan smiled. "Other than dead people, where can you find someone who's doesn't get scared?"
Xin Mei sighed. "You really are amazing."
His voice was weak, finally lied down.
It's morning.
Li Xun Huan sat by Xin Mei, already asleep.
When he woke up he found a horse carriage to take them to Mt. Song. They stopped at the base of the mountain before Li Xun Huan carried Xin Mei the rest of the way.
On his way up, he saw some monks gathering firewood. When they saw someone walking up the mountain with lightness kung fu, they took noticed.
One person asked, "Where are you from? Are you..."
Another one saw that he's carrying a monk, and asked, "Is that a Shaolin disciple on your back?"
Li Xun Huan originally was walking calmly, but when he saw these two monks, he suddenly flew high into the air over their heads, then kept on climbing.
By the time those monks could give chase, Li Xun Huan is already gone.
It still took him a couple of hours to reach Shaolin. He saw many pagodas big and small. He knows that this is the sacred Pagoda forest, where all past heads of Shaolin are buried.
This really isn't a good place for someone like him.
He suddenly started to cough.
Then he heard someone say, "Who dare enter the sacred land of Shaolin? You really are an arrogant person."
Li Xun Huan said, "Reverend Xin Mei is seriously injured. I brought him here so you can heal him. Please take me to your head reverend."
Suddenly many monks appeared. One asked, "My I ask for you name?"
Li Xun Huan sighed. "My name is Li Xun Huan."
Deep inside the bamboo forest, two people are playing Go(Wei Qi).
On the right is a strange looking old monk.
On the right is a skinny, short old man. His eyes are incredibly bright, charming, making people forget his height. He is definitely very charismatic.
Who other than Bai Xiao Sheng is worthy of playing Go with Reverend Xin Hu?
When these two play go, no one can stop them. But when they heard the words 'Li Xun Huan', they stopped.
Xin Hu asked, "Where is he?"
The monk who sent the message said, outside second martial uncle's room.
Xin Hu said, "What happened to your second martial uncle?"
That monk replied, "His injuries aren't serious. Fourth and sixth martial uncle are tending to him right now."
Li Xun Huan stood in the hall, looking at his surroundings.
He felt someone coming towards him. He didn't bother to look.
When they were ten steps away from Li Xun Huan, Xin Hu and Bai Xiao Sheng stopped. Although he knew Li Xun Huan by reputation, this is the first time Xin Hu has seen him.
He couldn't believe this person in front of him is the famous wandering hero.
He looked all over his body, not missing any details. Especially those skinny, long hands.
What's so special about these hands?
How come a regular dagger turns into a legend once it falls into these hands?
Bai Xiao Sheng saw him ten years ago. He found that Li Xun Huan did not change much these ten years, and yet he seemed to have changed a lot.
Bai Xiao Sheng finally laughed. "How has it been, Mr. Tan Hua?"
Li Xun Huan also laughed. "I can't believe you still remember me."
Xin Hu said, "Yet I don't know if you recognize me."
Li Xun Huan said, "Who doesn't know reverend's good name? Your fame is widespread. I really am grateful to meet you today."
Xin Hu said, "Don't be so modest. Thank you for bringing my martial brother here."
Li Xun Huan said, "It's no matter."
Xin Hu said, "After I check on the condition of my martial brother, we'll resume chatting."
After he left, Bai Xiao Sheng smiled. "Monks really can hold their temper. I really couldn't have done the same thing."
"What do you mean?"
"If someone injured your students and martial brother, would you still be nice to him?"
Li Xun Huan said, "Are you implying that I injured Xin Mei and his students?"
Bai Xiao Sheng put his hands behind his back. "Other than Little Li Tan Hua, who else can hurt him?"
Li Xun Huan said, "If I injured him, why would I carry him here?"
Bai Xiao Sheng said, "See. This is why you're so brilliant."
"Really?"
"No matter who injures a reverend of Shaolin, he's bound to forever have problems. The thousands of Shaolin disciples are bound to seek revenge."
Li Xun Huan smiled. "Bai Xiao Sheng really does know everything. No wonder everyone in the martial world wants to be your friend. It really is a great thing to be your friend."
Bai Xiao Sheng's expression did not change. "I'm only saying the truth."
Li Xun Huan said, "But you forgot one thing. Xin Mei is still alive. He obviously knows who hurt him. By that time, I'm afraid you'll have to eat your words."
Bai Xiao Sheng sighed. "If I calculate correctly, Xin Mei doesn't have any chance to say more words."
Suddenly he heard someone say, "If you didn't hurt Xin Mei, then who did?"
It's not clear when he got back, but his expression is very cold.
Li Xun Huan said, "You mean you can't tell he's been poisoned?"
Xin Hu did not respond. He turned around and said, "Seventh brother."
Only to see a yellow faced, ill-looking man, who said, "He was poisoned by Five Poison Kid's "Five Poison Water". This poison has no odor or taste. As colorless as water. If one does not immediately find the antidote, he'll rot and turn colorless."
Li Xun Huan laughed. "You really are amazing."
Xin Jian said coldly, "Yet I only know that the poison is Five Poison Water. I don't know who poisoned him."
Bai Xiao Sheng said, "That's correct. Although the poisoned person is dead, the culprit is still alive."
Xin Jian said, "Five Poison Kid has no grudge against Shaolin, why would he poison second brother?"
Li Xun Huan sighed. "Because he was trying to poison me."
Bai Xiao Sheng said, "This is strange. If he was trying to poison you, why are you still here? How come brother Xin Mei is dead?"
He stared at Li Xun Huan. "If you can explain this, then I really must bow down before you."
Li Xun Huan thought for a long time before smiling. "I can't. Because no matter what I say, you won't believe me."
Bai Xiao Sheng said, "You really do make it hard for us to believe you."
Li Xun Huan said, "I can't say it. But someone can."
Xin Hu asked, "Who?"
Li Xun Huan said, "Reverend Xin Mei. Why don't you ask him when he wakes up?"
Xin Jian said coldly, "Second brother will never wake up!"
Chapter 20
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Added 10-26-02