White-Robed Chief
Chapter 197: The Standoff

Chu Li sighed helplessly.

He did not want to get involved. It would only cause unnecessary trouble when one gets entangled in a conflict within the martial arts world.

However, the three young ladies were about to be slaughtered by those two men and he could not stand doing nothing.

He dashed towards them in a flash and stood in the way of the three ladies. He unsheathed his long sword and drew a circle in the air using the tip of his sword.

The hidden weapons clanged onto the wall of the drawn circle and dropped to the ground. It was a skill most effective in blocking attacks that used concealed weapons.

"Who are you?" The Yao family twin ghosts stared fiercely at Chu Li. His action was such an anti-climax to what they were about to execute. If not for the worry of Chu Li's Light-body Technique and sword fighting skills, the twins would have already plunged onto him and destroy him.

Chu Li did not bother about the twins. Instead, he took out some pills from his sleeve and inserted them into the ladies' mouths.

Suddenly, the ladies felt their bodies went limp. They panicked and held onto each other's shoulder for support, so they would not fall. They had absolutely no energy to resist themselves towards Chu Li's pills.

With his palm, Chu Li hit each of the ladies' backs respectively to helping them disperse the medicine in their bodies.

The ladies could feel the pills in their mouths dissolving into vapor, which flowed into their bloodstream and circulated through their internal organs. They felt rejuvenated and their strength slowly returned.

Chu Li swept a quick glance at the ladies and gave them a signal. In an instant, he took a huge leap backward before he jumped over the wall behind them and disappeared. His movements were as swift as Wong Fei-hung's. 1

The three ladies understood what he was trying to convey. As they continued to rely on each other's support, they stared fiercely at the Yao family twin ghosts and sneered, "You guys are mean!"

The Yao family twin ghosts transfixed their gaze at the wall where Chu Li had escaped as they wondered what their enemy was up to. He was literally just right in front of them a couple of minutes ago, but now he was gone. It seemed as if his sole purpose was to give the pills to the girls to cure them of the curse. Yet, they still felt confident about their poison. They thought that no antidote other than their own would be able to reverse the curse.

When they saw that the girls were still weak, a devilish smile etched across their faces.

Boss Yao scoffed at them, "The sooner we get this done with, the better. Just kill them already!"

"Sigh, what a waste. Alright then."

The twins gently leaped into the air, protruding their darkish green claws. They then charged onto the girls from above just like a goshawk.

The three girls shrieked in fear as they stumbled backward in panic.

They could see the Yao family twin ghosts grinning wickedly in mid-air.

On the thought that they were about to sink their claws into their prey, they felt thrilled. The soft texture of their bodies in their claws would feel better than anything else in the world. The twins were immersed in ecstasy on the thought of that.

"Ah—!" The girls stared at them wide-eyed. They screamed, but they could neither move or run.

"Heh heh..." The Yao family twin ghosts broadened their sinister grin. Their daunting claws emitted a faint bluish glow under the moonlight, and they were about to reach the chests of He Binghua and Sun Lihua.

"Ergh…"The Yao family twin ghosts jolted to a sudden stop when a strange shriek of pain escaped from their throats. They looked down and saw the sword which penetrated their chest. Immediately after, they stared at the three ladies in utter disbelief.

The ladies twisted their bodies around as they pulled out the sword cleanly. They then stepped backward.

"Chi…" The twins spurted out three jets of blood.

The Yao family twin ghosts lifted their arms with great difficulty, and their bluish black fingers trembled. They pointed towards the ladies with hatred before they collapsed onto the ground.

"Pom! Pom!" The two of them landed with a loud thud. They stopped moving.

"Take that! Ha!" Sun Lihua smiled, sheathing the sword with her left hand. She looked fiercely at their fallen enemy. "Yao family twin ghosts, huh? Now, you're Yao ghosts! Ha!"

She grinned with a great sense of achievement. She recalled the fear she had earlier and compared it with the pride she had now, it felt so good.

He Binghua searched around with her bright eyes. She made a fist salute at the direction where Chu Li had fled, saying, "Thank you for saving us, Master!"

There was only silence. Nobody replied to her.

"Sister, wasn't he the guy from the restaurant earlier?!" Sun Lihua proudly asked.

He Binghua nodded gently.

She could recognize Chu Li. Though she found it odd that he did not look like a martial artist and that made her wonder.

The other girl, Zhang Feihua said in a low voice, "Since he doesn't want to show himself, we shouldn't force him."

"That's true, let's go." He Binghua said, "We can't stay here any longer, we must move. Immediately!"

"Yes," Sun Lihua agreed.

The three ladies picked up their stuff and left. They did not even bother to look back at the Yao family twin ghosts' dead body.

When the girls left, Chu Li reappeared at the scene while he shook his head. He swung his long sword across the dead bodies before he cut off both their heads.

Chu Li knew that the Yao family twin ghosts were good at faking their own deaths. However, the girls were being too reckless. Just because the Yao family twin ghosts had hideous looks and poison on their bodies, the girls avoided them like the plague. They did not even look back to check if the monsters were really dead.

If the Yao family twin ghosts were not dead yet, the girls would not be lucky enough to escape their second attack.

Chu Li used his sword to open the Yao family twin ghosts' clothes. From there, several bottles fell off. He also pried open their leather pouches. Then, Chu Li then took a piece of fabric and wrapped the items together. He planned to bring them back to the Thousand Herb Garden and have them checked out.

The Yao family twin ghosts' poison was very deadly. Hence, there must be a high research value.

…

The next morning, Chu Li continued his journey with his horse galloping on rapidly. He wanted to return to the Public House as soon as possible to look for something.

He had read all the books in the Wisdom Tower, but there were no records of that technique the Yao family twin ghosts had used. However, he knew that there was another hidden chamber deep inside the Public House. It was a secret library that had never mentioned to anyone else outside the Public House.

The speed of his horse was as swift as the wind.

Chu Li's horse surpassed all the other horses on the road with ease. Before you could see them closely, they had already disappeared out of sight. With that kind of speed, Chu Li figured that he would reach Chong Ming town by noon the next day.

It was noon, and the sun scorched down mercilessly. Chu Li allowed his horse to slow down for a bit. It had already traveled a long distance, so Chu Li felt that it could use some rest. So, they went into the woods that was beside the road to take a respite.

As soon as they entered the woods, Chu Li was shocked. What a coincidence!

Under the kiosk sat three graceful ladies donning a white veil over their faces. They were dressed in pure-white gowns — it was the Tai Hua Valley ladies.

When they heard his horse, the ladies turned their heads around. They then saw Chu Li riding on his horse.

The ladies were caught by surprise. They immediately gave Chu Li a fist salute.

'What are the chances?' Chu Li thought. He smiled at them and returned a fist salute, in which he hopped down from his horse after. He loosened the horse lead, allowing his travel companion into the forest to find some grass to graze on. Meanwhile, he walked towards the kiosk.

"Master, may we humbly ask what your name is?" He Binghua stood up and saluted Chu Li. "We owe you one, for your kind actions last night!"

Chu Li shook his head and smiled. "My name is Chu Li. It was only a small matter, no need to thank me."

Zhang Feihua glanced at Chu Li as she smiled sweetly. "Master Chu, you're young but extremely skilled. I reckon that you're a disciple from a renowned faction, am I right?"

Chu Li smiled. "I'm a Scribe from the Yi Public House."

"The Yi Public House?" Their expressions changed. They looked at each other in disbelief.

Chu Li had expected that kind of reaction from them. He smiled and sat down on the other side of the kiosk.

The martial arts world and the Public House were archrivals. It was the Public House's duty to oppress the factions in the martial arts world, to prevent them from using martial arts to commit crimes. Thus, to ensure peace in the empire.

In the eyes of someone from the martial art world, the people from the Public House were like hawks — a constant pain in the ass.

After Chu Li sat down, he did not even turn to look at the ladies. Instead, he opted to admire the scenery around him. He kept his cool because he knew that he must maintain a certain distance from the ladies.

He Binghua regained her senses and said, "No matter what your identity is, you still saved our lives."

Chu Li waved his hand and smiled. "It's really nothing worth thanking. I think it's best if we keep a distance from each other. I've only helped you last night because I couldn't stand the wicked actions of those two monsters. So, I seized the opportunity to jump into the scene and save all of you. There's no need to feel in debt to me. Just pretend as if nothing had happened."

He Binghua shook her head and replied, "Master, you're just too humble."

Sun Lihua scoffed at him, "Master Chu, are you not heeding us because we're from a lesser-known faction?"

Chu Li turned his head around and looked at her. He smiled as he shook his head.

Sun Lihua pursed her red lips. "I know you look down on us!"

Chu Li sighed. "If your master knows that you've befriended someone from the Public House, she would banish you out of the valley."

"Our master is a reasonable person! She won't!" Sun Lihua scoffed.

Chu Li smiled as he looked at He Binghua.

Sun Lihua turned her glance to He Binghua instead and saw her gloomy face. He Binghua shut her red lips tightly, refraining from speaking further.

"Sister He?" Sun Lihua looked at her curiously.

He Binghua sighed. "Sister Sun, what Master Chu said is right."

"The Public House may be evil, but it's not like there are no good people in it, right?" Sun Lihua asked, looking puzzled. "Just take for example the prestigious Green Hill faction, aren't there bad people inside as well?"

He Binghua said, "I'll explain more to you later… Master Chu, we'll repay your good deed. If you have any requests at all, so long as it doesn't go against the rules of the martial arts world, we'll try our best to assist you."

Chu Li smiled. "Don't worry, I don't expect anything in return. Just pretend that we don't know each other."

The ladies felt embarrassed. Sun Lihua looked confusingly at He Binghua, but He Binghua showed no interest to explain anything to her.

Chu Li felt that the situation was getting awkward, so he stood up and gave them a fist salute. "If fate allows us, we'll meet again."

He squeezed his lips together and whistled. His horse emerged from within the woods and galloped towards him. Chu Li hopped onto his horse and gave another fist salute to the ladies as a farewell. He then rode on and did not turn back. Wong Fei-hung was a Cantonese martial artist, physician, and folk hero, who has become the subject of numerous martial arts films and television series. He was considered an expert in the Hung Ga style of Chinese martial arts.