That woman was seemingly mad and shouted that she wanted to kill that commander for killing her husband. They were on their way north, so it must have been Li Ping and Duan Tiande. I couldn't just leave and join the expedition, especially since we'd finally found some clues about where Li Ping went. When we were up north, we lost track of Li Ping and Duan Tiande. It was years later before we found out that Li Ping was in Mongolia and had given birth to Guo Jing. Last year in the spring, a messenger came to tell me that my brother had been killed in the expedition against the
‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’. It was also that messenger who informed who the ‘Twin Killers’
were and where they came from and what styles of martial arts they practised. I knew that I would be unable to avenge my brother then and decided not to tell you and we continued our search for Guo Jing.”
Ke Zhen'E looked very serious now and said, “What all of you need to watch out for is those claws of theirs. Sixth brother, go one hundred steps to the south and see if there’s a coffin there.”
Quan Jinfa, as quickly as he could, counted his steps. When he made it to one hundred, he did not spot a coffin. But upon closer inspection, he suddenly noticed that there was a corner of a stone slab protruding out of the ground. He pulled on it, but the stone slab did not budge. So he turned around and waved his arms; soon the other Freaks joined him. Zhang Ahsheng and Han Baoju both got Eagle Shooting Hero
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down and, together, could barely lift the stone slab. In the moonlight, they were able to see that there was a grave hidden beneath the stone slab. In the grave lay two bodies, both of them dressed in Mongolian attire.
“Those two monsters will come soon and use these corpses for practice.” Ke Zhen’E hopped into the grave. “I'll hide here and ambush them. You hide yourselves around here and make sure that they don't find you. Once you hear that I have began fighting with them, attack at once and try to catch them off guard. Please don't hold anything back. This type of ambush might not be righteous, but our foe is too powerful this time. Ambush is the only way; otherwise, none of us may make it out of this alive.” The other six Freaks listened intently to his every word.
“They are also extremely attentive and intelligent. They will spot even the slightest trace of disturbance from far away.” Ke Zhen’E continued. “Put the stone slab back and just leave a small slit for me.”
The six Freaks nodded and gently placed the slab back where it had been. Afterwards, they grabbed their weapons and hid inside bushes and behind trees in the area immediately surrounding the grave.
Seeing Ke Zhen’E worry like she had never seen before, Han Xiaoying was worried as well as curious. When she looked for a hiding spot she made sure to find one close to Zhu Cong.
“Who are ‘Copper Corpse’ and ‘Iron Corpse’?” She asked him as quietly as she could.
Zhu Cong answered, “Two years ago, Master Ke Pixie sent a messenger to contact big brother. Big brother was afraid the news would leak out and asked me to go with him to talk to that messenger.
He also wanted my opinion as to whether that messenger was real or was trying to deceive him.
According to that messenger, ‘Copper Corpse’ and ‘Iron Corpse’ are disciples of the lord of the Peach Blossom Island in the Eastern Sea....”
Han Xiaoying softly interrupted, “Disciples of Peach Blossom Island? That makes them people from Zhejiang province, just like us.”
Zhu Cong nodded and said, “Yes, it is said that they were disowned by the Lord of the Peach Blossom Island. They are highly skilled and very vicious; they are also very secretive and cautious.
After they killed Ke Pixie and some others of the expedition, they suddenly disappeared. Everyone thought that they’d paid for their crimes and were killed somehow. Little did we know that they were hiding here in Mongolia.”
“What are their real names?” Han Xiaoying asked.
“‘Copper Corpse’ is a man; his name is Chen Xuanfeng. He has a burnt yellow complexion like copper, and never showed a bit of emotion on his face, like a corpse. That's why everyone referred to him as ‘Copper Corpse’.”
“So does that woman, ‘Iron Corpse’, have a dark complexion?”
“Yes, her surname is Mei, full name Mei Chaofeng.”
“Big Brother said that they were training something called the ‘Nine Yin White Bone Claws’. What kind of kungfu is that?”
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“I haven't heard of it either.”
Han Xiaoying looked over at a pile of skulls near her and saw that top skull was positioned in such a way that the holes where the eyes were faced directly at her, as if it was staring at her. She shuddered involuntarily and turned away, not daring to take another look.
“How come Big Brother never brought this up?” She asked. “Could it be....”
She had not finished when Zhu Cong suddenly covered her mouth with his left hand and pointed to the bottom of the hill with his right hand. Han Xiaoying followed his finger and looked out from behind the bush. In the moonlight near the horizon, a faint black shadow could be seen quickly approaching at incredible speed.
“I should be ashamed!” Han Xiaoying reprimanded herself. “I was too busy talking to Second Brother and did not watch for the enemy.”
In a blink of an eye, the black shadow had made it to the foot of the hill. By now they could discern that it was actually two figures, which was why it looked so broad from afar.
“The ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’ truly do have a bizarre kungfu.” The Six Freaks thought to themselves. “Running at that speed yet they were still able to stick together so closely to each other; it really is as if they are inseparable!”
The six of them held their breath and cowered even lower, quietly waiting for them to come up the hill. Zhu Cong clutched tightly to his pressure point hitting fan. Han Xiaoying quietly buried the blade of her sword in the dirt so as to avoid giving herself away because of reflections off the blade; nevertheless, her right hand held a tight grip on the handle.
The sounds of sand and rocks being kicked could be heard as feet traveled up the hill. Each and everyone’s hearts pounded with every step and each moment seemed to last an eternity. By this time, the northwest wind had picked up as well. The dark clouds to the west looked like individual mountain tops as they came rolling relentlessly in.
A few moments later, the sound of footsteps ceased. On the open space, on the top of the hill, two silhouettes could be seen. The first, immobile, with a leather hat on its head, looked like a Mongol; the second, with long hair floating with the wind, was visibly a woman.
“Here are ‘Copper Corpse’ and ‘Iron Corpse’,” thought Han Xiaoying. “Let's see how they train themselves.” They saw the woman slowly move around the man, and heard her joints crack quietly.
Then she accelerated and the crackling became drum-like; increasingly loud and closer together.
“Is her internal strength truly that strong?” Han Xiaoying wondered. “It’s not surprising that Older Brother acts so prudently!” The woman moved her hands back and forth and, each time, the joints in her arms crackled. Her long hair was streaming nearly horizontally from the speed, and it gave her a terrifying presence.
Han Xiaoying felt a chill in her heart and the hairs began to bristle on her body. Suddenly, the woman raised her right palm and struck the man's chest with her left palm.
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“This is strange”, the six thought, “could it be that her husband's body is capable of resisting her palm strokes?” The man fell backwards, but she had already sped behind him and hit his back.
Going back and forth at high-speed, she hit him with eight palm strokes, each time quicker, and each time more powerful. The man didn't make a sound. After the ninth stroke, she suddenly leaped very high, then, coming down like an arrow, raised the man’s leather hat and planted the five fingers of her right hand in his head!
Han Xiaoying fought back a scream. The woman dropped to her feet and exploded with laughter.
The man, who had collapsed on the ground, didn't move. She stretched her hand, spotted with blood and brain matter, and examined it in the moonlight still laughing. She turned her head, and Han Xiaoying saw that her face, although a little dark skinned, was rather pretty and she seemed to be about forty years old.
The six now understood that the man was not her husband, but had been captured as a living target for the purpose of her practice. The woman must be ‘Iron Corpse’, Mei Chaofeng.
She stopped laughing, stretched out her hands and tore at the dead man’s clothing. In the north, where the weather was extremely cold, everyone wore thick leather coats. Yet she tore these very resistant clothes as if they were paper, without any effort. Then she plunged her hand into the poor wretch’s chest and withdrew the internal organs one by one, which she examined attentively in the moonlight. Afterwards she threw them on the ground. Even from a distance, the six could see that all the organs, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, had been completely destroyed. They now understood the intent of this practice: she had hit the body of this man with nine palm strokes and had succeeded in smashing the internal organs without breaking the bones of the skeleton. By examining the damaged internal organs, she could see the progression of her strength.