The Legend of the Condor Heroes

She increased speed and seized Quan Jinfa's arm who was too slow trying to escape. The other five moved quickly, but were too late; Mei, with a violent stroke, pulled a piece of flesh from his arm.

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"All those that practice the iron body technique," Zhu Cong thought, "must possess a nodal practice location which is impossible for them to protect using this technique. This point is particularly vulnerable and a small touch is sufficient to severely wound or kill them… Where could this shrew's nodal location be?" He bounded to the right, to the left, moving the fan, trying successively to touch the meridian point 'Meeting of the Hundred' on the top of the head, the point 'Screen of the Spring' on the throat, then the point 'Tomb of the Mind' in the hollow of the navel, followed by the point 'Hollow of the Middle' on her back… He tried about ten points, all the while thinking that, if she takes particular care to defend a point…that will be her nodal location.

The significance of his back and forth movements didn't escape Mei Chaofeng. "Lowly 'Scholar'," she shouted, "my technique is perfect to the point that I don't have a nodal location!"

She struck and seized Zhu's wrist. Although surprised, this man fortunately had a quick mind and agile hands. Before Mei could plant her nails in his flesh, he had pulled back his wrist and slipped his fan into his adversary's hand while whispering, "Careful, there's poison on the fan!"

Suddenly feeling a hard object in her hand, Mei Chaofeng, speechless and afraid of the poison, threw the fan to the ground.

Zhu Cong used this opportunity to escape and move several steps back. He looked at his hand, the back of which showed five bloody grooves, and felt a flush of cold sweat. The fight had only lasted a short time and not only had the Freaks not finished her off, but three of their number were already wounded. If 'Copper Corpse' arrived, they would all lose their lives. Zhang Ahsheng, Han Baoju and Quan Jinfa were already quite tired and covered with sweat. Only Nan Xiren, whose neigong was more powerful, and Han Xiaoying, lighter bodied, didn't seem tired; whereas their enemy became more and more violent. Zhu Cong suddenly saw, in the pallid gleam of the moon, the three heaps of skulls on the left. He shivered, and then had an idea; he hurried towards the hole where Ke Zhen'E was hidden, while shouting. "Run for your lives!" The other understood and moved back while still fighting.

"Bastard children from nowhere," Mei Chaofeng sneered, "you wanted to trap me here, but now it is too late to run away!" She rushed after them. Nan Xiren, Quan Jinfa and Han Xiaoying did their best to engage her, while the three others united their strength to raise the slab of stone. It was just in time, because Mei Chaofeng had seized Nan Xiren's iron rod and was moving her claws in direction of his eyes.

"Come quickly and help us", Zhu Cong shouted. He pointed his finger upward and made gestures with his other hand, as if calling for the help of someone hidden on the heights. Surprised, Mei Chaofeng couldn't stop herself from raising her eyes; but all she saw were the low clouds veiling half the moon… There was no one up there!

"Seven steps right!" Zhu Cong shouted. At these words, Ke Zhen'E threw six poisoned projectiles seven steps to his right, two at head height, two to the middle and two below, while bounding out of the hole. The other Freaks attacked from all sides at the same time. Mei Chaofeng let out a shriek of pain; two projectiles had reached her eyes! Fortunately for her, her agility allowed her to move her head back immediately, so that the invisible projectiles didn't penetrate into her brain, but she had definitely been blinded!

Feeling pain and rage, she struck downward with her two palms; but Ke Zhen'E had already escaped to one side. They heard two thuds, because her palms had hit a rock. Made even more furious, she sent out a kick that struck the slab and made it fly off. The Seven, afraid of the strength of her attacks, remained carefully to the side.

Since she couldn't see them any longer, she thrashed out with her senses, striking, scratching, and kicking. She looked like a furious tiger, or a demon, breaking everything in her path, while raising clouds of dust, breaking the branches of the trees, all without hurting any of her enemies, who were sufficiently far away, holding their breath. Later, her vision became completely dark, and she knew that the poison had taken effect. "Who did this?" she said with a terrifying voice. "Say it quickly, so that I die knowing who killed me…"

Zhu Cong made a gesture in direction of Ke Zhen'E to ask him to be quiet and to let Mei die in ignorance. Then he remembered that his Older Brother was blind, how could he have seen his gesture?

"Mei Chaofeng." Ke said with an icy voice, "Do you remember 'Divine Dragon Soaring through the Sky,' Ke Pixie, and 'Bat Soaring Through the Heavens,' Ke Zhen'E?"

Mei Chaofeng responded with a thunderous and terrifying laugh.

"So Old Bastard, you didn't die! You're the one that used the poisonous projectiles, aren't you? Have you come to avenge 'Divine Dragon Soaring Through the Sky's' death?"

"Precisely! Since you haven't died yet…that suits me well!"

Mei sighed and stayed silent.

The Seven Freaks remained on guard. At that moment, the moon was nearly hidden by the dark clouds, and everyone felt the insidious and penetrating cold. Mei Chaofeng stood immobile like a stone statue, her hands alongside her body, and the moon light reflecting off her sharp nails. The strong wind that blew from behind her raised her long hair. Han Xiaoying, who was in front of her, saw blood oozing from her eyes.

Suddenly, Zhu Cong and Quan Jinfa shouted at the same time, "She attacks, Older Brother!"

As their voices resounded again, Ke Zhen'E sensed a hit was about to arrive on his chest. He bounded into the air by delivering a heavy stroke to the ground with his staff, and landed on top of a tree that was behind him. The blow delivered by 'Iron Corpse' missed its target; instead, she planted her ten fingers in the trunk of the tree. The Six Freak's faces were pale with terror. Had Ke Zhen'E lingered for only one second, the nails would be planted in his body. How would he have been able to escape alive?

Having missed her adversary, Mei Chaofeng released a sudden long and weird howl, very piercing, but with a power that carried far.

"How unfortunate", Zhu Cong thought, "she calls her husband 'Copper Corpse' for help." Quickly, he shouted, "It is time to finish her!"

He mobilized all his energy into his arm and heavily hit Mei Chaofeng's back, while Zhang Ahsheng raised a big stone which he brought down at her head.

'Iron Corpse', who had just lost her vision, didn't yet know how to protect herself by using her hearing, like Ke Zhen'E. The big stone, while coming down, made a noise that she could hear and she quickly avoided it. But she could not avoid Zhu Cong's stroke. Even though she had trained her body for extreme resistance to accupoint strikes, the 'Scholar' not only had quick hands but also strong ones; she felt a stabbing pain in her back.

Zhu Cong wanted to take advantage of his position and continued to hit her, but Mei Chaofeng counter-attacked with a slash of her claws, and he moved back.

Just as the other Freaks got ready to step in, they heard a long howl coming from far away. It had the same tonal quality that Mei had used a while ago, and it gave them the creeps. Shortly, a second howl was heard, but this time a lot nearer.