The Young Hero
Chapter 1
Autumn. The wind was cold, colder than usual. Red leaves were falling on the ground from the few but tall black trees. It was past midnight. The mist made the night even scarier in Lu Graveyard. Strange sounds could be heard. It was like the dead would rise up from their graves in any moment.
Suddenly, the sound of steps could be heard. The steps caused dust to blow and merge with the mist. A man was walking in the graveyard. The man was in his early thirties. He was tall, refined and very handsome. He had long black hair, was wearing a blue silk robe and held a long sword on his right hand. He walked with an air of confidence, the air of a winner.
"Lu Jiangjing, come out!", he said with crystal clear voice.
A man in his late fifties appeared from the trees, where he had been hiding. His large head contrasted with his slim body. His mustache was quite long. He was wearing a white robe, but it had become grey due to the dust.
"How did you know I was the one who gave you the invitation?", Lu Jiangjing asked. Despite asking this question, he did not seem really surprised about it. It seemed as he had already predicted that the one he invited over would uncover his identity.
"Three years ago, I went to your friend Xiang Rong's house.", the man replied. "He showed me a poetic couplet you had written and which you gave to him as a gift. So, when the waiter gave me your letter, I recognized your handwriting."
"You only saw once my writing three years ago and yet you still remembered it? You are indeed a very talented man, Leng Yi."
While Lu Jiangjing spoke with admiration for Leng Yi, he did not seem to have been much surprised about his achievement. The way he spoke, he gave the impression that he knew beforehand that Leng Yi would be able remember his handwriting.
"I also know why you invited me here?", Leng Yi responded.
"Really?"
Leng Yi grinned.
"What is the easiest way to gain fame and glory in the Martial Arts World?"
"By killing the best swordsman alive."
Leng Yi laughed. "Indeed."
He paused for a second. "And who is the best swordsman alive?"
Lu Jiangjing also laughed, but his laugh contained bitterness and jealously. "A few years ago, I would have replied Guo Jing. But since he retired, it is you, of course. Leng Yi, 'The Demonic Swordsman'. The best swordsman in the world, the only one who has managed to beat Abbot Hong of Shaolin and Master Yi Di of Huashan. A great martial artist from the tender age of eleven, when he beat his uncle, Leng Jing. Leng Yi is also handsome and no woman can resist to him. In addition to being the most attractive man alive, he is also a refined scholar and has studied all of the Confucian classics."
Even though Lu Jiangjing flattered quite a lot Leng Yi, his eyes showed a look of jealously and insincerity, while his words contained much bitterness in them, as if Lu Jiangjing was complaining for the fact that the Gods seemed to have granted Leng Yi everything that a man could wish for while they never allowed him to enjoy any of those things.
Leng Yi could not help but laugh. His laughter was warm but to Lu Jiangjing it felt like icy water was being poured over him. "Since you know I am so good, why do you insist on trying to kill me? Do you have a death wish?"
By this point, Lu Jiangjing was fuming with anger. Instead of an answer, he unsheathed his sword. The blade of the sword was emitting a blue light and Lu Jiangjing's face reflected upon it. The blade was so clear that it was like a mirror.
On the other hand, Leng Yi's sword was old, rusty and covered with dust. It was a black and unrefined sabre. That sword was also scarred, a sign that it had fought many battles.
One would expect a more refined sword considering that Leng Yi was the world's greatest swordsman. This sword looked like a cheap sabre which anyone with a modest income could buy.
Yet, in the eyes of a great swordsman, the difference between Lu Jiangjing and Leng Yi and their respective swords was already clear.
Lu Jiangjing was a man holding a sword. Leng Yi had become one with his sword.
In a split of a second, the two swords had collided. A loud clang sound was heard and it seemed like the earth shook. Lu Jiangjing was the more aggressive of the two. He lunged forward and pushed back Leng Yi with vicious and quick attacks. Yet, despite being forced to retreat, Leng Yi seemed pretty confident and relaxed.
After retreating by a few steps, Leng Yi went on the offensive. But this time his moves were faster than the galloping of the fastest horse and more vicious than the most vicious tiger. But what made Leng Yi's moves so unpredictable and effective was the fact that he went on an all-out attack, caring little about defending himself from a possible enemy counterattack. He did not seem to care at all about the danger of losing his life. He fought like he was going to die.
Although Leng Yi allowed the creation of many gaps and openings that could prove fatal for him, Lu Jiangjing was not able to exploit them. He had already been forced to go on the defensive due to the viciousness of Leng Yi's attacks. Their two swords clashed repeatedly. In one of those clashes, a clang sound was heard and Lu Jiangjing's sword broke in half.
Before Lu Jiangjing could realize this, Leng Yi had already pierced his sword through Lu Jiangjing's chest. When Leng Yi pulled out his sword, blood was purring like a river's raging waters on the ground. Lu Jiangjing had died at a graveyard. At least, he had a place to be buried. Others did not have this luck.
The next morning, the sun brightened the clear blue sky. The flowers' fragrance filled the air, the birds were chirping, singing a melody unknown to man, a melody that could compete with those of the best human singers. A lone man was walking on the dirt road. On the two sides of the road, there were countless bamboo trees, a true sea of green. In the dense forests of bamboo trees, a myriad of leaves glistened brightly.
The lone man was in his early twenties. He had short black hair, fine, manly physique and handsome, well-proportioned features. He was wearing a blue gown made from the finest silk and was holding a hand fan made of crane feathers on one hand and a book on the other hand. The book contained a poetic collection of rare romantic poems which had been written by Ji Yang, a poet of the Tang Dynasty.
As the man was walking, he heard the sound of galloping. He turned around and saw five horsemen riding forward at a frenzy speed. They passed by him quite fast, causing dust to blow and dirty the man's gown.
"How rude!", the man commented. "They are galloping so fast, that they could hit someone on the way. Madmen!"
As he was about to continue his journey, he heard someone laughing. The laughter came from his left side. He walked towards the left side of the road and into the bamboo forest, curious as to who was laughing.
"Excuse me for my curiosity, but can you please reveal yourself to me?", the man politely said. "My name is Guo Polu, and it would be an honor to meet you."
From the top of a bamboo tree, a man jumped and landed on the ground right in front of Guo Polu. He was a grizzled old man with a red nose, dressed in simple peasant clothes and smoking a pipe.
"You must be a scholar, not a pugilist.", the old man said. "Am I correct?"
"Indeed you are, honorable sir.", Guo Polu said. "I am honored to meet you. How did you know I was a scholar?"
"Only scholars are so long winded."
Guo Polu put up an awkward smile hearing this.
"Also, you hold a book in your hand.", the old man continued. "So of course I realized that you are a scholar."
"So, why were you laughing?"
"I just found funny you reaction to the galloping of those five. Most people seeing those five are usually scared to death but instead you got mad at them."
"Of course I did! They were galloping like madmen. And why would anyone be afraid of them?"
The old man laughed. "You really have no idea at all about the events in the Martial Arts World. They are the 'Five Wind Brothers', some of the most deadly Swordsmen in all of Sung."
"Well, that gives them no right to behave like that.", Guo Polu retorted. "Just because they are good swordsmen, it does not mean that they have the right to do whatever they want."
"And who is going to stop them from doing whatever they want? You?"
Guo Polu did not reply. He did not know any martial arts at all, so of course he could not even imagine of stopping those deadly swordsmen.
"Where were those men heading to?", Guo Polu asked. "They seemed to be in a great hurry."
"To their death.", the old man replied, with a wide grin on his face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"They challenged Leng Yi, 'The Demonic Swordsman', to a duel. They should not be able to survive more than three minutes against him."
"Is he so good?"
The old man was dumbfounded by Guo Polu's question.
"You've never heard of him? Even people who are not associated with the Martial Arts World know of him. He is the best swordsman in the world. He has beaten all the great martial artists of Sung. No one has been able to survive his deadly sword. I bet even Guo Jing would have a hard time beating him."
The old man noticed that when Guo Polu heard that name, he frowned a bit.
"You know Guo Jing?", the old man asked.
"No, no. Not at all.", Guo Polu frantically replied. "I've only heard about him from the storytellers who detail his courage and martial artistry and how he beat the Mongols."
"You also share the same surname."
"Many people share the same surname. That does not mean that they are all relatives."
"Whatever, I could not care less about your relation to him. Anyway, what do you think of coming with me to watch those fools getting their ass kicked by Leng Yi?"
Guo Polu though for a moment and then nodded in approval. "Alright, I will come with you. It's not like I have anything better to do right now."
"By the way, my name is So Jian."
And so the two of them walked forward together, hoping to reach Yijain village where the duel was to take place before noon.