ground。 The white ape howed and jumped up to a。 tree。 Then it leaped away。 The howl was intense， but became muter as the it went farther away。 The howl reverberated long after the white ape was gone。 Ah Ching turned back and sighed ”Grandpa broke both of his arms。 Now he won“t e play with me anymore。”Feng Li said “You broke his arms？”Ah Ching nodded “Grandpa is very angry today。 Three times， he tried to leap over and kill you。”Feng Li said in surprise “Kill me？ Why？”Ah Ching shook her head “I don”t know。“Feng Li became scared in secret ”If Ah Ching didn“t stop it， that white ape can kill me， easy as blowing away a。 pile of ash！”The next morning， Ah Ching faced twenty of the best swordmen of Yueh alone。 Feng Li knew that Ah Ching could not teach other people how to use the sword the way she did， so the only way was for the Yueh swordmen to imitate her。 The problem was no Yueh swordmen could last three passes from her。Whenever Ah Ching“s bamboo stick moved， her opponent either lost his sword， or got stabbed in some delicate area。 The next day， she defeated thirty swordmen。 The third day， thirty more lost。 The fourth day， Feng Li went to ask her for another lesson， but he could not find her。 He went to her home， but the house was empty。 Feng Li sent hundreds of his servants and guards into the mountains to look for her， but no one could find any trace of her。 The eighty Yueh swordmen didn”t learn the true sword skill from Ah Ching， but they saw the smallest portion of the ultimate sword skill。 All the swordmen now knew the true height sword skill could go。 The eighty swordmen tried to teach the small portion they could understand to their rades。 Even this pale shadow of a。 pale shadow of the ultimate skill was enough， Yueh swordmen became invincible。 King Kou Chiang ordered Hsieh Chu to forge thousands of sharp swords。 Three years later， Kou Chiang attacked Wu。 The armies of Yueh and Wu met next to a。 lake。 Five thousand Yueh swordmen marched forward。 Wu swordmen met them。 Yueh swords flashed and the Wu army was shattered。 King Fu Chai retreated to Yu Hong Mountain。 The army of Yueh followed。 The second battle ensued。 The Wu army was again defeated。 Fu Chai mitted suicide in order to avoid the cruel fate Kou Chiang had in store for him。 Yueh took the capital of Wu。 Feng Li led one thousand swordmen and rushed to King Fu Chai“s resort palace。 That was where Si Shi lived。 He ran into the palace， shouting ”Yi Kwan！ Yi Kwan！“He ran past a。 long corridor， his footstep echoed clearly。 The corridor was hollow underneath。 Si Shi walked lightly， the rhythm of her steps was more enchanting than any music。 Fu Chai built this palace， this corridor in order to listen to the melody of her footsteps。 At the other end of the corridor， music came， like the sound of a。 happy mandolin， like the clear sound of a。 zither。 Asoft voice said ”Shao Bo， is that really you？“Feng Li felt blood rushing upward from his chest and shouted ”It“s I。 It”s I。 Ihave e for you。“ His own voice seemed like the voice of a。 stranger， speaking from far away。 He ran forward with uneven steps。 The music came down the corridor， a。 soft body entered his embrace。 The spring night was meltingly warm。 Flower fragrance floated through the curtains， entering the chambers of the resort palace。 Feng Li and Si Shi talked about their longing for each other。 Suddenly the sound goat perated into their awareness。 Feng LI said ”You can“t forget you homeland？ You have goats here？”Si Shi shook her head。 She wondered about the goats， but she couldn“t think of anything else in the presence of the man she loved。 She held Feng Li”s hand， and fiery blood flowed faster through their arteries。 Suddenly， the voice of a。 woman sounded “Feng Li！ Bring out you Si Shi。 I”ll kill her！“Feng Li stood up。 Si Shi felt his palm suddenly turning cold。 Feng Li recognized Ah Ching”s voice。 Her voice came from outside of the resort palace。 Feng Li was fearful and puzzled。 “Why does she want to kill Yi Kwan？ Yi Kwan had never wronged her。” Then he understood “She”s not really a。 simple village girl。 She always liked me。“ The understanding only made him more fearful。 He had gone through many， many difficult decisions as well as dangerous situations。 The fear he felt when he was trapped with Kou Chiang in a。 Wu siege was far less than what he felt now。 Si Shi felt his palm trembbling and covered with cold sweat。 Feng Li was not afraid of his own death。 He feared for Si Shi。 Feng Li pulled himself under control and said ”I will go see this person。“ He released Si Shi”s hand and walked out of the palace。 Eighteen swordmen followed him。 They all heard Ah Ching“s cry。 They were baffled and curious。 Feng Li oly saw the clear moonlight outside， but no one was visible。 He cried out loudly ”Lady Ah Ching， please e here。 We have things to talk about。“ But he heard no reply。 He waited， but Ah Ching did not e。 He ordered one thousand armored soldiers and one thousand elite swordmen to be moved to the resort palace。 He returned to Si Shi and held her hands again。 He didn”t say anything。 He was planning as he never planned before “Should Ilet one of the servant maids pretending to be Si Shi and let Ah Ching kill her？ Should Imit suicide before Ah Ching so she will spare Si Shi？ Should Iorder two thousand archers surrounding this place and shoot Ah Ching full of arrows if she tries to force her way in？” Every plan he had was flawed。 He also didn“t want to kill Ah Ching， who had made the destruction of Wu possible。 He stared at Shi Si。 Suddenly he felt warmth in his heart ”It“s good that we”ll die this way。 At least we spend sometime together before we die together。“Hours passed。 Si Shi felt that Feng”s hand became warmer。 He lost his fear and began to smile。 The rising sun cast its rays through the window。 Suddenly the the sound of a。 fight came from outside the palace door。 Then the incessant sound of weapons dropping to the ground。 The sound drew closer and closer， like a。 giant serpent worming its way into the palace。 Then the sound of dropping weapons came from the walkways just outside the room they were in。 Two thousand warriors were not enough to stop Ah Ching。 Ah Ching“s voice said ”Feng Li， where are you？“Feng Li said calmly ”Ah Ching， I“m here。”Before he even finished the word “here”， the curtain parted and a。 green shadow came flying in。 Ah Ching， dressed in her usual green stood before them。 She pointed her bamboo stick at Si Shi。 She stared at the face of Shi Si， the killing rage on face gradually disappeared， replaced with disappointment and selfpity， then it changed to surprise， admiration and finally worship。 She whispered “There……there really is such beauty under heaven！ Feng Li， she is even more……more beautiful than you described。” Her slender waist turned。 With a。 cry， she flew up through the window。 The cry went farther and farther until its reverberation was left。 The surviving guards ran inside the room。 One of them bowed “Minister， are you all right？” Feng Li merely dismissed them with a。 wave of his hand。 Then he held Si Shi“s hand and said ”Let“s change into the clothes of mners。 We”ll go rowing a。 boat upon Lake Tai and never return to this place。“Happiness shone from Si Shi”s eyes。 Suddenly she frowned and she reached toward her heart。 Ah Ching“s bamboo stick didn”t touch her， but the pure chi from the stick had reached into her body and did her some slight harm。 In the next two thousand years， all people know that the most beautiful image in the world was Si Shi holding her hands in front of her bosom。 Where are they now？
King Kou Chiang finally got his vengeance， but something had happened to him during all those years when the only emotion he could feel was hate。 Feng Li must have sensed it。 He resigned his post and told his buddy Wen Chung to resign with him。 He said “Kou Chiang is someone who you can depend on during hard times， but it will be impossible to share good times with him。” Wen Chung didn“t believe his old friend。 He believed that he could finally enjoy the rewards he deserved。 Feng Li disappeared from history。 Some said that he became a。 hermit。 Some said that he became a。 merchant prince who owned the wealth of kingdoms。 Si Shi became the Chinese version of Helen， the beauty who destroyed a。 great kingdom。 Some said that Si Shi went with Feng Li and they lived happily ever after。 Some said that Si Shi died when Kou Chiang”s wife， fearing losing her husband， tied a。 rock to the woman“s back and sank her in a。 lake， gloating ”Now， you never have to grow old。“ You can pick the ending you prefer。 Kou Chiang became as Feng Li predicted， cruel and merciless。 Wen Chung was forced to mit suicide when he was wrongfully charged with treason。 The end he inflicted upon Wu Tzushi became his own end。 Kou Chiang became full of pride。 He made war with the great powers of northern China。 The wars brought no decisive victory。 Then he died。 After his death his kingdom fell apart。 Eventually， Chuh absorbed the territories of Wu and Yueh。 The Yueh people fled south。 Over the centuries， they were pushed farther south by the expanding Chinese empire until they entered present day Vietnam。 They are there still。 Recently， an archaeological excavation in Hunan uncovered two bronze swords。 One of them was thought to be the sword of Fu Chai。 The other was attributed to be the sword owned by Kou Chiang。 The legends of the precious swords have some basis in fact。 If anyone know more about the archaeological findings， please email me。 The swords Fish Intestine and Defeater of Evil were buried with King Ho Lu， Fu Chai”s father。 The locals swore that they periodically saw a。 white tiger standing upon the tomb of Ho Lu。 The white tiger was the symbol of metal， so the locals believe that the tiger was the personification of the magic swords under there。 Believe it or not。 As for the Yueh Maiden， she never existed in real history。 She always existed in the land of legends and there， presumably， she roams still。 Doubtlessly she has performed many great dee