CLX Book 4 Chapter 19 – Part 1

Chapter 19 – Bat Prince

There were only seven people here. _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang, Hu Tiehua, Zhang San, Gou Zichang, Ying Wanli, Gao Yanan and Dong Sanniang.

Yet this sentence was not spoken by the seven of them.

The voice seemed very far away, but everyone could hear it clearly.

All seven people were stunned.

No one knew where the voice was coming from.

The stone prison suddenly became deathly silent, nearly even their breathing had stopped.

After a long time, the voice spoke again, “But I am not in a hurry to kill you. Now you already cannot see anything, I will make you cannot hear anything immediately, and then I’ll slowly kill you!”

Obviously the voice did not know that there was a fire here, so he was definitely not inside this room.

But where could he be?

Chu Liuxiang suddenly leaped up and slid up the stone wall. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

He immediately discovered that a brass pipe was unexpectedly hidden in the corner of the room.

The mouth of the pipe was very big, like a trumpet, and then it gradually narrowed down into a smaller diameter pipe which was buried deep in the stone wall.

The voice came from this brass pipe.

The speaker was at the other end of the brass pipe, obviously he could also hear any movement here via the brass pipe. Every word they said in here, he could hear clearly over there.

Ying Wanli was listening attentively to Chu Liuxiang, his eyes were starting to lit up. Could it be that he heard something very interesting?

What exactly did he hear?

Chu Liuxiang spoke word by word into the brass pipe, “Gexia is Bianfu Gongzi?”

He spoke every word very slowly, his voice did not sound very loud.

But every time he spoke one word, the brass pipe was vibrating that it created a ‘buzzing’ noise.

The other party was silent for a very long time, and then slowly said, “I have long heard that Chu Xiang Shuai‘s qinggong is the pinnacle in Jianghu, I did not expect your inner power to be this profound. If you can be friends with me, I don’t see any reason why we can’t dominate the world. It’s a pity …” _{Translated by foxs}

Speaking to this point, his voice suddenly stopped, as if he was sighing.

But suddenly, the sigh changed, it became indescribably sharp. Suddenly it sounded like one voice, but listening carefully, it sounded like countless voices mixed together, one voice followed another, getting faster and faster, like ten million swords scraping against each other.

The brass pipe was also vibrating in response.

The entire mountain cave seemed to vibrate.

No one could stand this kind of sound.

Chu Liuxiang wanted to block the brass pipe with his hand, but when he touched the pipe, his whole arm was numb from the shock, and his body fell down like an autumn leaf in the wind.

Hu Tiehua only felt as if thousands of needles were piercing his ears, and from his ears they continued piercing into his heart, his person also seemed to be ripped apart.

His hands were also trembling from the shock, so that the fire paper fell to the ground. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

He could no longer see anything, he could no longer think about anything.

His entire strength had been destroyed by the sound, the only thing he could do was to use both hands to cover his ears tightly.

But the voice still penetrated through his hand, drilled into his ears, and bored into his heart.

His spirit has completely collapsed, he nearly went crazy; as long as he could stop this noise, he would be willing to sacrifice anything or pay any price.

Even to the death, he was willing.

But the noise seemed to go on forever, no one knew how long it would continue …

Dark, deathly stillness.

Hu Tiehua’s ears were still buzzing, but at some point, that kind of dreadful noise had stopped. His entire body was drenched in sweat, his whole person already collapsed from exhaustion, he lay on the ground gasping for breath, as if he had just gone to hell to battle against the evil spirits, like he was in a nightmare.

After a long time, his ears still could not hear any other sounds.

But finally he was able to stand up. _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang often said that his body was made of iron.

As long as he still had one breath left, he could stand up.

But what about other people?

Could anyone else survive this nightmare?

Hu Tiehua groped around to find the fire paper.

He did not know where the fire paper fell. In such darkness, how could he find it?

At this time, he had not heard Chu Liuxiang’s tale about looking for a snuff bottle, hence he did not think of using his ‘nose’ to look for it — the fire paper also had the smell of sulfur and saltpeter.

He was trying to think of an idea when the fire suddenly lit up.

Someone was standing in front of him holding the fire paper in her hand. To his shock, it was unexpectedly Dong Sanniang.

Hu Tiehua was stunned, he stared at her blankly, unable to speak for a long time.

Dong Sanniang did not even have any emotion showing on her face, she spoke indifferently, “This fire paper is very good, it was made using high-quality sulfur, therefore even the smell is very good.”

The fire was flickering, where did the wind come from? _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Hu Tiehua turned his head, immediately he almost screamed with joy.

Unexpectedly the stone gate was already opened.

Chu Liuxiang’s person was still leaning against the door, blinking, as if he had fallen asleep.

His whole body was also soaked, he looked utterly exhausted, but the corners of his mouth still carried a smile.

There were also two masked men in black clothes at the door, holding a stick in their hands. The stick had already been broken, and they were already lying on the ground, all their four limbs were twisted, they curled up into a ball.

Evidently they discovered that the stone door was open, and were about to rush over to close it, but as soon as they rushed over, they were shocked by that dreadful noise.

This stone gate was also shaken open by the force of this vibration, coupled with Chu Liuxiang’s own true power also shocked it open.

No matter how terrifying a person is, as long as you know how to subdue him, he will be your slave. No matter how terrifying the power, as long as you know how to use it, it will become yours. _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang had always understood this principle very well.

What about Zhang San?

Zhang San’s person was curling in the corner like a zongzi [sticky rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves].

Gao Yanan was lying by Hu Tiehua’s feet, she was already struggling to stand up.

Women’s tolerance for pain is indeed stronger than that of men.

The most tragic was Ying Wanli.

His head had been smashed by himself, and his two ‘white-clothed divine ears’ were also snatched off.

He only had one hand left, so naturally he could not cover his ears.

What’s more, the ‘white-clothed divine ears’ was made of alloy and then embedded in the ear bones, they were most sensitive in transmitting sound, even if he could use his hand to block, he could not block the sound wave.

His remaining hand was grabbing Gou Zichang’s hand tightly.

This was the fugitive he wanted to catch, whether he was dead or alive, he definitely would not let him go!

Gou Zichang has fainted. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Dong Sanniang slowly handed the fire paper to Hu Tiehua, and then slowly turned around and walked toward the door.

Chu Liuxiang suddenly woke up, he pulled her hand, and spoke gently, “Are you blaming me for lying to you?”

Dong Sanniang chuckled, she said, “How could I blame you, you … you had good intention.”

Her laugh was very tender, but was also very desolate; she continued slowly, “You are all good people, I will always be grateful …”

Chu Liuxiang said, “In that case … why are you leaving?”

Dong Sanniang was silent for a very long time, she spoke dejectedly, “How could I not leave? Aren’t you disgusted looking at me?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “I did not see anything, I only saw your heart. I only know that your heart is much more beautiful than anyone else’s, and that’s enough for me­­­.”

Dong Sanniang’s body trembled, suddenly she threw herself into Chu Liuxiang’s bosom and cried bitterly at the top of her voice.

It was a bitter cry without tears. _{Translated by foxs}

Hu Tiehua could hardly hold back his tears. He cleared his throat a couple of times, and then shouted loudly, “Zhang San, less pretending to be a grandson, what are you doing still lying in there?”

Zhang San heaved a sigh, he said, “I’m not pretending to be a grandson, I’m precisely a grandson. You guys go, I can’t walk anymore. In any case, Ying Wanli and Gou Zichang need someone to guard them.”

Ying Wanli suddenly opened his eyes.

His eyes had become indescribably dull and hesitant, he looked around in a daze, unexpectedly he cried out, “Yuan … [turns out, original, primary]”

He only cried out this one character, his face suddenly twisted, his body shrunk into a ball, he was so frightened that his countenance was ashen, as if he had just seen a ghost.

And then, he also fainted.

Once they were out of this stone prison, they could no longer use the fire paper.

“I’ve been here before, you follow me!”

Gao Yanan pulled Hu Tiehua’s hand, she walked at the front, leading the way.

Chu Liuxiang and Dong Sanniang walked on the other side. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

In this way, although their strength was scattered, but there would be less target as well, the less likely they were to be discovered. Even if one party was discovered, the other party could still come to their rescue.

The strange thing was that there seemed to be fewer people patrolling — this was perhaps because Bianfu Gongzi thought they were trapped to death, hence the guard was inevitably slackened.

Suddenly, a flicker of bluish green, almost transparent – ghost fire [will-o’-the-wisp] appeared in the darkness.

The flame flickered and flashed, unexpectedly it projected four characters: ‘I am the murderer’ [wo shi xiong shou]!

Hu Tiehua felt her hands suddenly turned icy-cold, while his own hands were also sweating.

Who was the murderer?

Where did this ghost fire come from? Could it be that Kumei Dashi‘s heroic soul was really immortal, and was manifesting here?

Hu Tiehua was about to chase, but the ghost fire suddenly flew up. _{Translated by foxs}

It was also at this precise moment that he felt his waist and back went numb, as seven or eight sticks simultaneously touched his body, sealing seven or eight acupoints on his back!

Unexpectedly his every move still could not be hidden from Bianfu Gongzi.

No matter where he went, someone was already there waiting for him!

Chu Liuxiang already flew to the second floor.

For some unknown reason, his movement seemed to be a bit more careless, perhaps because he already knew that no matter how careful he was, his actions would inevitably be discovered by the other side.

Surprisingly, on the second floor, there were no people patrolling or guarding.

Chu Liuxiang just took a breath, unexpectedly he sensed a gust of wind brought about by someone else’s sleeves.

The gust of wind was very fast, yet it was also very light.

Just as Chu Liuxiang pushed Dong Sanniang away, the person already pounced, and in an instant he had already made three moves. The sharp gust of wind seemed to separate into six or seven directions, striking Chu Liuxiang at the same time.

After three moves, Chu Liuxiang already knew that this person was the most terrifying opponent he had ever met in his life, even much more terrifying than Shi Guanyin, Yin Ji and Xue Yiren. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Because every move this person made was full of hatred, as if he really wanted to kill Chu Liuxiang as soon as he made a move, and, as long as he could take Chu Liuxiang’s life, he would not hesitate to die in such a way that the opponent would also perish.

This kind of move was not only terrifying, but was also dangerous.

Confronting this kind of style, there was practically no leeway in making a choice between life and death!

The third floor was the top floor. If there was light, sitting on the third floor, one could see clearly see the movements on the first and second floors.

But the voices speaking on the third floor could not be heard from down below, because this floor was particularly high, like a stage, except that the people sitting on the stage were not performing, but watching the performance.

Currently, in such darkness, naturally they could not see anything.

They only saw a dot of ghastly bluish green ghost fire, leaping, spinning, and jumping around on the lower floor!

No one spoke either, only bursts of breathing could be heard. _{Translated by foxs}

The breathing was very heavy, obviously the number of people sitting here was not a few.

The ghost fire was leaping faster and faster; sometimes it clearly appeared that it was going to the left, but for some reason it suddenly made a sharp turn and suddenly moved to the right.

In the end, these ghost fires seemed to be connected into a thread.

A twisted strange line.

But as soon as the ghost fire stopped, four characters immediately appeared: ‘I am the murderer’!

No one knew how long, but finally someone could not help asking, “Are these four characters written on someone’s body in bluish green phosphorus?”

Another person chuckled and said, “Indeed Zhu Xiansheng has good eyesight.”

The voice was deep and low, as well as hoarse, but it carried some kind of authority and intimidating power that no one could describe. It seemed that as soon as he spoke a word, it could decide the life and death of thousands of people.

This was the Bat Prince’s voice. [Translator’s note: the original was ‘young master bat’, but I took the liberty to translate ‘gongzi’ as ‘prince’, similar to what I did with ‘Passionate Prince’ (Legend of Great Tang’s Twin Dragons).]

That Mr. Zhu heaved a sigh, he said, “If these four characters are written on a person’s body, this person’s movements are really too fast.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Bianfu Gongzi said, “Can Zhu Xiansheng guess who he is?”

Muttering to himself irresolutely, Mr. Zhu said, “Looking around at the world, people with such a fast shenfa are really not many. Zaixia already thought of someone, it’s just that …. this person cannot be him.”

Bianfu Gongzi said, “Who is Zhu Xiansheng thinking of?”

Zhu Xiansheng said, “Chu Xiang Shuai. Shenfa this fast and strange, other than Chu Xiang Shuai, it’s really difficult to find a second one.”

Bianfu Gongzi chuckled again, he said, “If that’s the case, why can’t this person be him?”

Zhu Xiansheng muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, then said, “If it is Chu Xiang Shuai, how could someone write such four characters on his body?”

Bianfu Gongzi spoke slowly, “Perhaps these four characters were not written by a human, but a manifesting ghost.”

His voice suddenly became indescribably illusory and hollow.

Zhu Xiansheng seemed to shiver, he spoke hoarsely, “Ghost? Whose ghost?” _{Translated by foxs}

Bianfu Gongzi said, “Of course it’s the ghost of the person he nailed to the death.”

Zhu Xiansheng blurted out, “Chu Xiang Shuai also killed people?”

Bianfu Gongzi spoke indifferently, “If he really never killed anybody, how could he be haunted by ghosts?”

Zhu Xiansheng sucked in a long, long breath, obviously he was seventy-percent convinced.

Because among the living, there was absolutely nobody could write such four characters on Chu Liuxiang’s body without him knowing it; anybody would know that Chu Liuxiang’s reaction was always terrifyingly fast.

Only after a long time that Zhu Xiansheng released his breath, he said, “Looking at the situation, he seems to be fighting someone now.”

Bianfu Gongzi said, “It seems to be so.”

Zhu Xiansheng said, “Who is this person? They have been fighting for at least one hundred and fifty moves by now. The number of people in Jianghu who can match Chu Liuxiang for more than one hundred moves are really not many, but even now, this person has not yet fallen into disadvantageous position.”

Bianfu Gongzi slowly said, “Maybe he is not a human.”

Zhu Xiansheng seemed to shudder again, he said, “If not human then what is it?”

Bianfu Gongzi’s voice was even more illusory, he said, “It’s a ghost … the ghost who came to demand his life from Chu Liuxiang.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

These words were spoken, the sound of breathing suddenly became lighter.

Some people even stopped breathing.

Ghost!

These two characters [gui hun, actually, lit. ghost soul (immortal soul, i.e. can be detached from the body] were also illusory and empty, because no one has really seen a ghost, but now, in this kind of terrifying darkness, these two characters suddenly become very real.

There seemed to be a ghost before everybody’s eyes, all kinds of ghosts.

The ghosts that everyone was seeing were different, because in people’s imagination, ghosts do not have a defined shape, but no matter what shape, all were equally terrifying.

If only there was a little light, one could see how terrified these people are. Some people emitted cold sweat on their foreheads, and some people were sitting on pins and needles on their chairs. Some people clutched the front piece of their garment so tightly that they could not even breathe.

If only there was a little light, they would not have been scared so terribly. _{Translated by foxs}

Because ghosts always come with darkness; only in places where there is no light would there be ghosts.

“How many ghosts actually are hidden in this darkness?”

The people sitting here were naturally all Wulin big heroes with status, with rank. They were able to climb up to their status today, naturally to some extent they have killed a few people.

“Now, are these ghosts coming to demand their lives?”

‘Ghost’, this kind of matter was really very fantastic. If you don’t think about it, it doesn’t exist.

As soon as you think about it, the more you think, the more they appear. The more you think, the more afraid you become.

Bianfu Gongzi seemed to be able to guess what they were thinking, suddenly he said, “Have gentlemen seen what this ghost looks like?”

No one was willing to answer this question.

After a very long time, someone stammered, “Can’t … can’t see it, no one can see ghosts!”

Bianfu Gongzi spoke leisurely, “Says who? If you want to see, you will be able to see it.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

He continued slowly, “This ghost seems to be a female ghost, moreover, she had not died for too long, hence there is still blood all over her body, blood is slowly flowing out of her eyes …”

In the darkness, there was already the sound of chattering teeth.

But speaking to this point, Bianfu Gongzi’s voice suddenly stopped.

That dot of bluish green ghastly ghost fire suddenly disappeared!

What happened here?

Could it be that Chu Liuxiang already collapsed?

After that female ghost took his life, which other people’s life would she want?

Everyone’s heart was at sixes and sevens, jumping incessantly, but no one dared to ask.

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