1 Refers to the Three Famous Mountains: Huangshan, Lushan and Yandangshan; and the Five Sacred Mountains: East Great Mountain Taishan, West Great Mountain Huashan, South Great Mountain Hengshan (in Hunan), North Great Hengshan (in Shanxi), and Center Great Mountain Songshan.

2 It was once believed that men with protruding temples were more careful, perceptive and capable in finance.

3 Original text was one zhang, a measurement of length. A zhang is about 3.3m.

4 暗器 (ànqì), weapons that are concealed in some way (often hidden in the owner’s clothing). Their effectiveness relies heavily on the element of surprise.

Chapter 4. The Chivalrous

The man in black and the girl quickly engaged in a fight. As an outsider, Zhou Zishu had a good look at their capability; the movements were not quite the same but the ruthlessness from both was definitely on the same level. They didn’t appear to be from righteous orthodox sects.

After about fourteen to fifteen moves, the man suddenly staggered back to dodge, kicking at her Shanzhong point1. She leaned away and made a soft noise, concentrating on her next attack which apparently was cracking down on the enemy’s knees. But she didn’t expect a noise from something hidden above the man’s pants; and from it a spring ejected, shooting an arrow forward, aiming at the girl’s chin.

She was not half bad, currently having an upper hand in this fight even, but never could she have predicted this vile move; panic piled up but dodging at this point was futile. The rock in Zhou Zishu’s hand was finally useful as he flicked it straight toward the incoming arrow, deflecting its course. It ended up narrowly grazing the girl’s temple.

After experiencing danger, a normal person would feel terrified; but apparently she was the opposite, her embarrassment turning into anger. She surged forward and made a clawing attack without hesitation, gripping at the enemy’s leg bone and twisting it. The man screamed as his leg was broken, but his attacker didn’t stop there. In her hand was a glowing blue light, and she ruthlessly pounded it into the man’s chest, knocking him backwards, both legs bent and crushed. His face immediately turned gray and purple as he stared at the girl with wide eyes, pointing at her, “You’re Pur… Purple…”

He died before he could finish.

The old woman was frightened to death by this beautiful but cruel young lady.

Contrastingly, the simple-minded looking boy had a faster reaction, he threw himself at the fisherman, asking hurriedly, “Uncle Li, how are you? You…”

He still had a breath left in him. With all his strength, he caught the boy’s sleeves; the latter tried to embrace him and help him stand. The girl in purple walked over, lifting the old man’s eyelids, frowning, “It’s the Three Geng2 Until Death poison, he’s beyond saving now. My condolences.”