Epilogue
(1)
There’s probably only one kind of ugliest person in the world.
Dead people.
Whether the person was good-looking or not when alive, once dead they all become ugly.
But there is one good thing about dead people.
—Dead people can’t harm others and can’t harm themselves.
× × ×
Long Chengbi obviously didn’t want to go see dead people.
He wasn’t a lunatic.
Nor did he have the least bit of interest in dead people.
But once he got to the temple he did indeed see many dead people.
He had not been mistaken, there were many people there who had just died, including Tang Zhengbang!
Tang Zhengbang had been stabbed through the throat by a thin, sharp sword.
The sword was Righteous Blood.
Tang Zhengbang wanted to use poisoned needles to deal with the King of Assassins, but the one who was dealt with was not Sima Xue but Tang Zhengbang.
Tang Zhi had been repeatedly routed in battle, how could he take that?
× × ×
The Three Axes of the Thunder Sect were locked in combat with Tang Yu for a time, and despite efforts to avoid it, they still recklessly advanced on him, brandishing their axes.
Tang Yu, in the end, didn’t kill them.
But Tang Jiang was not about to stand around and just watch.
His sleeve arrow skill was one of the jianghu’s finest, and now was just the time to use it.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Three bands of cold light struck the Three Axes of the Thunder Sect’s throats.
The Three Axes swung their axes at the same time, but Tang Jian’s arrow shooting skill was unrivaled, how could they withstand it?
Three screams one after another. The Three Axes never dreamed there could be such an incredible hidden weapon in all the world.
Their three throats were struck by arrows at the same time.
Could they still live with an arrow in their throat?
Of course not.
In the end, there were three more dead people in the temple.
× × ×
Tang Zhi had always had the utmost confidence in his Evil Sect.
Everything else aside, he felt that Evil Valley was his masterpiece.
However, Safe & Sound Valley turned to Evil Valley and now had turned back to Safe & Sound Valley.
The deaths of Sha Bu’e, Du Duo, and Dugu Yi were no small blow as far as Tang Zhi was concerned.
But he still had many martial arts masters, he could still fight it out.
He was no longer young.
He truly was now fighting for dear life.
—That’s precisely what is so sad about humans: old and aging like a guttering candle, yet instead of enjoying one’s blessings one still strives for mastery, who bother risking your dear life like that?
But humans are often impenetrably thickheaded like that.
From cradle to grave, humans are constantly striving.
Striving for survival of course makes sense, who doesn’t nurse milk after they’re born? Who doesn’t eat solid food once they get older? Who doesn’t earn money to take care of their wife and kids?
But sometimes the things a lot of people strive for aren’t for survival, but for their own personal desires, for impractical vanity.
Of course the problem isn’t that people strive for things. Even if you go through untold hardships and risk your life to strive for it, that’s your own business.
But many people constantly harm others in order to strive for power, authority, fame, and wealth.
Constantly striving for fame and wealth, and constantly hurting others.
Tang Zhi was just such a person.
× × ×
Despite Tang Zhi’s vaulting ambition, despite his unwillingness to give in, he after all was not stupid.
He gradually realized that the situation was becoming unfavorable.
Since the situation was unfavorable, there was no point sticking around.
He got ready to beat a retreat.
But on the surface he didn’t show it.
After the Three Axes of the Thunder Sect fell, he suddenly swept over like a strange bird to the coffin home. He swept over so fast no one could even see it clearly.
But Long Chengbi didn’t let him off.
Tang Zhi was the chief culprit, how could he let him off lightly?
Tang Zhi laughed coldly.
He didn’t even turn around, just backhand scattered a mass of bloodred poisoned needles behind him.
Long Chengbi evaded them like a nimble swallow in flight.
Tang Zhi used his lightness skill while he said to Long Chengbi coldly, “If you don’t give it up, tonight will be your time to die.”
Long Chengbi paid no attention.
Tang Zhi’s threat had no effect on him at all, because Long Chengbi was a fearless vagabond.
× × ×
Tang Zhi quickly made it to the coffin home.
Long Chengbi was in hot pursuit.
Tang Zhi sent another bunch of poisoned needles out to stop Long Chengbi’s advance.
Long Chengbi was slowed down slightly by the bunch of poisoned needles.
Tang Zhi immediately used his quickest hand skills to take off the lid of one of the coffins in the coffin home.
The coffin looked to be no different than any of the others.
But Long Chengbi wasn’t stupid, he knew that Tang Zhi was never lift a coffin lid for no reason.
Tang Zhi uncovered the coffin for one of two possible reasons.
The first possibility: There was an especially formidable weapon or hidden weapon stashed in the coffin.
The second possibility: Inside the coffin was a secret passageway that would allow Tang Zhi to escape.
× × ×
Of the two possibilities, Long Chengbi figured the second was most likely.
Because Tang Zhi’s most formidable weapons were already likely in his hands, why leave them in a coffin?
So somehow or other, there was definitely something fishy underneath this coffin.
Long Chengbi truly was a clever vagabond.
He didn’t guess wrong.
Tang Zhi opened the coffin lid and immediately bore in there like a rabbit.
The coffin of course was empty.
There was no dead body inside, just a deep pit, a deep pit with a faint glow of candlelight.
Anyone else in this situation would have hesitated.
But Long Chengbi didn’t.
He nearly leapt down together with Tang Zhi.
× × ×
A deep pit.
The size of the pit was even beyond Long Chengbi’s imagination.
The coffin lid above them closed again with a creak.
A short time later, Tang Zhuquan and Wei Kongkong arrived at the ghastly, horrible coffin home.
A coffin home was a residence for dead people. During the day it was still ghastly and horrible, how much more so at night!
But they weren’t afraid.
They feared nothing and no one, neither gods nor ghosts, and they definitely didn’t fear death.
But when they entered the coffin home they didn’t see Long Chengbi, and they didn’t see Tang Zhi.
Of course they didn’t know that the two of them had dropped into the coffin.
(2)
Within the deep pit was another deep pit.
Tang Zhi was no longer hurried.
He had become much calmer than before.
However, even when he was making a break for it he was still composed, not flustered in the slightest.
An ambitious cutthroat of his generation naturally couldn’t be compared with the likes of any ordinary bandit.
The deep pit within the deep pit in fact was not really a “pit”.
It was a dungeon.
But rather than call it a dungeon, it would be more accurate to call it an open grave.
Therefore, Long Chengbi’s first words were, “This is a tomb.”
× × ×
Tomb!
A tomb underneath the coffin home.
Tang Zhi smiled indifferently.
“That’s right, this is a tomb.” He suddenly sighed, then continued slowly, “This might be this chairperson’s tomb, but it might also be yours.”
Long Chengbi said easily, “To be able to commandeer such a large place after one dies is a blessing.”
Tang Zhi’s sallow face revealed a friendly smile. “Well said.”
Long Chengbi said, “Do you like this tomb?”
Tang Zhi said, “Do you?”
Long Chengbi let out a hollow laugh.
He didn’t answer, but just slowly reached out and gripped the hilt of Blizzard Blade on his hip.
The hilt was an old bronze color.
The blade was shiny as snow.
When Long Chengbi slowly drew Blizzard Blade from its scabbard, Tang Zhi’s expression changed somewhat.
This was the first time he’d gotten a good look at this sabre—Blizzard Blade.
Blade bright as snow.
Long Chengbi’s eyes were also bright as snow.
But Tang Zhi’s face sank.
× × ×
The candlelight was dim, the air still as death.
Tang Zhi suddenly took out a pair of bloodred thin leather gloves and slowly put them on.
Long Chengbi didn’t take this opportunity to swing his sabre and attack.
During a one-on-one duel, he never wanted to take advantage of anyone.
Even though he gave others the impression was that of an unrestrained vagabond.
But vagabonds have their vagabond principles.
Long Chengbi didn’t like to take advantage of others, including pretty girls.
Tang Zhi seemed to know that Long Chengbi would not take this opportunity to attack him, so he put his gloves on as leisurely as a an old woman doing embroidery.
Long Chengbi lightly breathed in.
He suddenly asked Tang Zhi, “What are those gloves?”
Tang Zhi’s reply was simple, he only said two words, “Killing gloves!”
× × ×
Gloves really had many uses.
They could keep one’s hands warm.
They could also protect the hands from rough objects.
But Tang Zhi’s pair of gloves were used to kill people.
Anyone whose skin brushed against these gloves was 100% a dead man.
× × ×
Tang Zhi and Long Chengbi, here in this “tomb”, unleashed a great, decisive, heaven-and-earth-shaking, god-and-ghost-moving battle.
Before Tang Zhi attacked, he said to Long Chengbi, “This chairperson really wishes you weren’t my enemy.”
“I don’t have to be, as long as you change yourself.”
“Why would this chairperson change himself?” He laughed coldly. “Aren’t I living well now?”
His laughter became more and more terrible, the entire pit seemed to shake from his laughter, even sway.
Long Chengbi still stood there like it was nothing.
His Blizzard Blade had still not moved.
Tang Zhi’s laughter suddenly cut off.
“Nice internal skill!” Long Chengbi smiled indifferently.
Tang Zhi’s laughter ceased and a different sort of smile appeared, one suffused with a dense, murderous aura.
He suddenly pounced forward, hands extended in a succession of thirteen claw strikes.
None of these thirteen claw strikes were defensive, but a continuous assault.
But Long Chengbi didn’t underestimate the thirteen claw strikes.
He didn’t rashly counterattack.
He knew that Tang Zhi looked to be not on his guard at all, but actually, that was a trap to draw the enemy in. If Long Chengbi had had less jianghu experience, he would have fallen for the old fox’s ruse.
But Long Chengbi was a right-aged fox himself, so he knew that trick.
But when masters fought, the most important thing was their true ability.
If his martial arts wasn’t good enough, any trap or scheme that Tang Zhi used would be way overkill.
Claws came on one after the other, every claw attack like a soul-summoning note from King Yama.
Blizzard Blade’s pressing radiance seemed to vanish completely in that moment.
This surpassingly strange claw technique had incredibly ruthless moves.
Tang Zhi’s bloodred claws seemed to envelope Long Chengbi’s entire person.
× × ×
Tang Zhi not only used his claw technique, at the same time he also used finger techniques, palm techniques, and even Shaolin’s Arhat Fist.
His martial arts looked to really be spectacular.
But Long Chengbi wasn’t taken in by it. He could see accurately that Tang Zhi’s true attack power lied in his claw strikes.
When Tang Zhi’s repeated attacks were unsuccessful, he suddenly switched to defense.
But his defense could puncture Long Chengbi’s throat at any time.
Long Chengbi smiled coldly, eyes full of murderous intent.
An explosive shout and eight sabre slashes in succession.
The blade shot out cold awns of light and in a split second, man and sabre unleashed their formidable might at the same time.
Tang Zhi’s heart shivered.
He went from offense to defense, but actually his main aim was to lure in the enemy.
But Long Chengbi’s eight sabre slashes pressed down on him all at once, making him understand that Long Chengbi’s Eight Dragons Sabreplay’s might really exceeded all expectations.
He began to regret. He regretted giving his opponent a chance to make a rapid counterattack.
But now regrets were no use.
Long Chengbi’s sabre mercilessly assailed Tang Zhi like lightning.
Tang Zhi made a strange cry and stuck to the ground and rolled, using his Bellybusting Claw martial arts.
His fingers ripped through the air.
But Blizzard Blade was quicker than his Bellybusting Claw.
The snowy blade reeled like a whirlwind.
This was an absolutely unforgiving sabre slash. If this slash couldn’t kill Tang Zhi, then Long Chengbi’s belly was in serious trouble.
Long Chengbi’s belly had been good so far, he was wasn’t about to let Tang Zhi’s Bellybusting Claw rip it open.
Shwah!
Along with a savage cry.
Long Chengbi’s belly was safe, but Tang Zhi’s heart had been cut in two by Blizzard Blade.
× × ×
The Evil Sect was finally destroyed.
Old Tang had agreed to lend a hand to Tang San and his wife and he had not gone back on his word. But Tang San and his wife both suddenly dropped dead two days later.
Because after drinking the spider wine they had immediately gone out and exchanged blows with people. According to what was written in the Devil-Immortal Spider Dharma manual, those who ingest spider wine can never draw up their perfected qi.
Tang San and his wife weren’t unaware of this, but they didn’t think that just one fight would lead to their deaths.
As for Tang Yu and Tang Jian, they took Biling and went back to The Tang Sect of Shu together.
Tang Jian, this “Water Cat”, henceforth never again roved the jianghu. The lonesome “cat” became the Tang Sect of Shu’s high and aloof Sixth Lordson Tang.
× × ×
Another scorching hot evening.
Tang Zhuquan once again on the grass “feeding mosquitoes”.
He felt this was really fun, watching intently as a mosquito bit him, but not feeling itchy at all, nor any pain. Wasn’t that wonderful?
Old Tang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his darling son.
Tang Zhuquan was not at all a simpleton, he was more astute than the vast majority of astute people.
He felt that even though mosquitoes were awful, they only sucked people’s blood to survive.
But what about humans? Why did they kill people and spill blood all over the ground?
Mosquitoes were awful, but many people were even worse that mosquitoes.
Tang Zhuquan suddenly felt that mosquitoes were lovable. At least 360 times more lovable than those repulsive people.
There were not many who truly understood Tang Zhuquan.
There were even fewer who truly understood Long Chengbi.
Tang Zhuquan was “feeding mosquitoes”. What about Long Chengbi?
Where was he?
× × ×
It was the night of a full moon.
If you asked Long Chengbi where was the moon most beautiful, he would surely answer: “Hangzhou.”
Because Tang Zhujun lived in Hangzhou.
Now, Long Chengbi was in Hangzhou, laying down in a high loft, looking up at the bright moon.
A thin layer of mist suddenly covered the bright, clear moon.
Long Chengbi’s eyes were also misty.
This was love mist.
Love mist wasn’t affected by wind and snow, nor stormy waves.
His love mist could never be blown away and dispersed, never swatted away.
Now, Long Chengbi was really not afraid of anything.
Because Tang Zhujun was in his arms…
THE END
