The people within the partially salvaged Rao Manor were completely oblivious to the doom approaching. Settled into the quiet routine following their intensely strained dinner, they believed the immediate peril had passed. Some were sat in the open viewing the night sky, others retreating to their rooms, their minds preoccupied with the complex, fresh revelations of family and betrayal. They moved through the surviving wing of the old house in a state of exhausted relaxation, utterly unaware that death was silently creeping toward them, its form embodied by the twenty men outside preparing to unleash a torrent of fire. They had survived the fall from the cliff, only to be caught completely off guard by the imminent, blazing assault.
Rao Zhengsheng and Yuan Xiurong were sitting inside the burnt old pavilion, overlooking the moon. The night wind gently blew across their young faces.
"I'm wondering when father will arrive?" Yuan Xiurong mused.
"It will take a few days for Chief Yuan to arrive," Rao Zhengsheng replied. He looked at her seriously. "Xiurong, knowing that many people have died here, do you mind living here?"
Yuan Xiurong smiled warmly. "As long as you are by my side, it doesn't matter where I live."
Rao Zhengsheng pointed. "I'm thinking over there," he said, gesturing to the left. "It used to be my parents' room. It should be Horan's quarter." He looked at Yuan Xiurong. "That side should be yours. It's a bit smaller than Horan's, but I hope you don't mind."
Yuan Xiurong's smile was genuine. "I don't mind. Let Horan pick it first when we rebuild the area."
Rao Zhengsheng held Yuan Xiurong's hands, his heart full. "Xiurong, thank you for giving me everything. The most important thing is, thank you for understanding and accepting me. I am grateful to have someone like you by my side, giving me strength and courage. I don't want you to put yourself lower than Horan, because in my heart, you two are equally important." He held Yuan Xiurong in his arms.
He looked up just as he saw a wave of fire arrows flying towards them.
Rao Zhengsheng quickly lifted the heavy stone table and hid Yuan Xiurong behind it. "Stay there. I'll go get Dong shushu."
Yuan Xiurong nodded to Rao Zhengsheng.
Rao Zhengsheng ran straight to Dong Shun's room, kicking the door open. He found that Dong Shun was still in bed. He picked him up and carried him out of the room. He kicked Dong Lanying's bedroom door, but she wasn't inside. "Lanying!" he shouted.
Dong Shun was instantly decisive, despite being carried. "Zhengsheng, we are not leaving without Lanying."
Inside Yongzheng's room, the sound of the panting and the creaking of the old bed finally came to a stop when Yongzheng reached climax. Yongzheng, who was longing for love and acceptance, especially from the person he had loved dearly for a long time, still refused to let go of Xue Horan; his right arm was still under Xue Horan's neck, acting as a pillow, his left hand still holding onto Xue Horan's right leg, and his mouth still refused to part from Xue Horan's.
Xue Horan panting heavily, spoke through connecting lips, "Yongzheng... um... Yongzheng... enough... enough..."
Yongzheng kissed Xue Horan one last time before he finally rolled off of Xue Horan, dropping his exhausted body to one side. He then gently pulled Xue Horan into his arms.
Suddenly, four fire arrows flew through the window panels into the bedroom. Two fire arrows hit the back wall, and the fire quickly spread to the sheets and bed drapes.
Yongzheng rolled their naked bodies off the bed to the ground. He quickly grabbed Xue Horan's clothes to prevent them from catching fire. The two quickly dressed themselves. Yongzheng held onto Xue Horan's hand, and the two rushed out the door toward the others' room.
In another part of the burning Manor, Rao Zhengsheng rushed back to the small pavilion and met Dong Lanying, who was fighting with four disciples of the Beixing Sect.
Dong Shun quickly said, "Zhengsheng, let me down, go help Lanying!"
Rao Zhengsheng put down Dong Shun and went straight to Dong Lanying. He began to fight the four men alongside her.
Yongzheng and Xue Horan found Yuan Xiurong being dragged away by two people. Yongzheng hurriedly flew forward and struck the two men. His blow knocked them back into the burning pavilion. Xue Horan rushed forward and helped Yuan Xiurong up.
Immediately afterward, another man rushed toward Xue Horan's back. Yuan Xiurong shouted, "Horan... behind you!"
Xue Horan spun around, arching his back, and saw the sword heading directly for Yuan Xiurong's left chest. Without a thought, Xue Horan quickly grabbed the sword with his right hand. The sword slid over his palm, piercing deeply into his flesh.
Yongzheng rushed to Xue Horan and Yuan Xiurong and hit the man on the head fiercely, killing him instantly with his palm strike.
Yongzheng checked Xue Horan's hand; the palm was cut very deep. He tore off a piece of his own clothing and wrapped it tightly around Xue Horan's palm.
"Where is Rao Zhengsheng?" Yongzheng asked.
Yuan Xiurong said, "He went to find Dong Shushu and Lanying." She walked over and looked at Xue Horan's hand. "Horan, thank you."
Xue Horan smiled painfully. "Let's go find them and get out of here."
Rao Zhengsheng and Dong Lanying walked back to Dong Shun after defeating the four Beixing disciples. Cao Wenyan and the chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands flew directly toward them.
Dong Shun shouted, "Watch out!"
Rao Zhengsheng and Dong Lanying turned around. Rao Zhengsheng put his arms in front of him, and the chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands attacked him directly. Rao Zhengsheng was thrown backward toward Dong Shun and spat a mouthful of blood.
Dong Lanying was hit hard by Cao Wenyan and flew away from Dong Shun and Rao Zhengsheng, vomiting a mouthful of blood.
The chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands flew directly toward the injured Rao Zhengsheng. Before he could land another blow, Yongzheng flew quickly from the side and began to attack the chief leader with a furious barrage of kicks. Yongzheng's kicks sent the chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands reeling away from Rao Zhengsheng.
Meanwhile, Cao Wenyan drew his sword and headed straight for Dong Lanying. Xue Horan jumped up and kicked Cao Wenyan's sword, deflecting the blow. Cao Wenyan followed up with a left-handed punch, which Xue Horan blocked with his left arm, stumbling backward from the force.
Cao Wenyan looked at Xue Horan, whose right hand was already bleeding heavily from the sword wound. "You leave now. It has nothing to do with you," he warned.
"I won't stand by and watch you hurt my shijie," Xue Horan declared.
Dong Lanying immediately stood up, and Xue Horan and Dong Lanying began fighting Cao Wenyan together.
As Yongzheng blocked the chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands' next strike, he staggered slightly toward Dong Shun. Yongzheng quickly grabbed a nearby sword from the ground and pointed it directly at the chief leader.
Yongzheng's eyes were cold and menacing. "Leave and live or stay and die."
The chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands smiled—a chilling, predatory grin—and rushed toward Yongzheng. Yongzheng swung his sword and met the attack head-on. The chief leader flipped backward twice, landing lightly on his feet, and immediately sent three needles flying toward Yongzheng. Yongzheng swiftly swung his sword left and right, knocking the needles away.
Suddenly, four daggers flew directly at Yongzheng. He dodged two, caught one with his sword, and snatched the last one out of the air with his left hand. He spun, sending the dagger from his sword back toward the person who threw it, and hurled the one from his left hand directly at Cao Wenyan. Finally, he quickly released the sword in his hand, sending it flying at the chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands, who narrowly avoided the attack with a quick backflip.
The chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands was panting heavily, and blood dripped from a fresh cut on his left hand. He glared intensely at Yongzheng.
Wu Jinghua hurried over to the chief leader and examined his wound. "Not bad," she murmured. She looked up at Yongzheng, intrigued. "Who are you?"
"Yongzheng," he stated simply.
The chief leader of the Seventy-Two Islands spat the truth, "He is Number One."
Wu Jinghua's eyes widened slightly. "I didn't take a good look at your face that night. I didn't expect Number One is actually a handsome young man."
Just then, the five other leaders of the Seventy-two Islands flew over the wall and landed, standing beside their leader and Wu Jinghua, surrounding Yongzheng.
The fight was a blur of flesh against flesh and focused internal energy, a masterclass in unarmed combat that was brutally fast and astonishingly precise. Yongzheng faced the collective, weaponless ferocity of the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands and his six lieutenants.
Yongzheng moved like water, yielding to force only to redirect it. When the Chief Leader's open-palm strike arrived, Yongzheng shifted his stance, allowing the blow to glance past while delivering a sharp, focused elbow strike to the Chief Leader's kidney. He used a low, spinning sweep to take out one grappling lieutenant and executed a quick, reverse wrist lock on another.
He retreated and defended against the swarm, his hands a blur of parries and deflections, always looking for the smallest gap. One opponent crumpled from a sudden, devastating knee strike to the solar plexus. Another, attempting a high kick, was met mid-air by a powerful shoulder barge that sent him flying backward.
Yongzheng used his internal energy sparingly but effectively—a focused chi strike to a key nerve cluster, a burst of force behind a block to stun an opponent. He spun, ducked, and weaved, turning the sheer weight of their numbers against them. One by one, the leaders crumpled, defeated by a precise strike to a temple, a crushing blow to the ribs, or a final, focused palm to the chest.
In the end, the Chief Leader was the last standing. He charged in a final, desperate fury, but Yongzheng, calm and unshaken, met him with a technique of pure Tai Chi deflection. He took the incoming force, twisted, and rebounded it with a concentrated strike of internal power directly to the abdomen.
The Chief Leader grunted, pressing his left hand to his injured abdomen. He glared at Yongzheng. "Number One, I don't believe you alone can protect all these people. My five leaders are here, and with the Wang as backup, even if you have wings, you will not be able to escape unharmed with these people."
Yongzheng knew the Chief Leader was right; with the six leaders and their large number of disciples, he couldn't possibly protect everyone.
Rao Zhengsheng quickly put Dong Shun on his back. He turned to Xue Horan. "Horan, protect Xiurong!" He then quickly flew over the wall.
Dong Lanying pushed Xue Horan toward Yuan Xiurong. She shouted, "Go now. I will catch up later!"
"Shijie, be careful," Xue Horan replied, grabbing Yuan Xiurong's waist. The two followed Rao Zhengsheng and flew out.
Wu Jinghua quickly threw a dagger at Xue Horan and Yuan Xiurong, but Yongzheng kicked a nearby stone, which flew up, blocking the dagger's path.
Cao Wenyan immediately focused his attack on Dong Lanying. She was already injured and not as skilled as Cao Wenyan; he hit her twice in the chest, and she stumbled backward.
Yongzheng saw that Dong Lanying had lost the fight. He rushed toward Cao Wenyan and kicked his left arm hard. "Let's go," he commanded.
Yongzheng and Dong Lanying jumped over the wall. Wu Jinghua threw two daggers at them. Yongzheng hurriedly pulled out the butterfly sword behind him, blocking one of the daggers as he flew over the wall. The second dagger, however, hit Dong Lanying's right calf, and she fell in front of the wall.
Cao Wenyan rushed over and immediately placed his sword against Dong Lanying's neck. He demanded, "Where will Rao Zhengsheng hide?"
Dong Lanying looked at him defiantly. "I don't know."
Cao Wenyan became enraged and raised his sword, preparing to kill her. But the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands grabbed Cao Wenyan's hand. "Let your father decide her fate," he advised. He then reached out to Wu Jinghua. "Give me the antidote."
Wu Jinghua reached into her belt and handed a small bottle of antidote to the Chief Leader.
The Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Island walked up to Dong Lanying, holding the vial. "The dagger of Leader Seven is very poisonous, and you will die if you don't take the antidote," he warned, using her life as a hostage to ensure her cooperation.