Several days later, Mei and Zhu left Hebei, heading south to their old home in Hunan, hiding from pursuit.
They took turns driving. At Mei's urging, Zhu memorized the Five Limits Method and burned the manual to avoid capture.
As for the Blood Shadow Divine Skill, he dared not study it. He hid it carefully.
While driving, he thought about the skills.
The Five Limits Method held the Five Limits Divine Fist, a supreme technique refined from Hongmen's "People's Fist," with five forms.
The Blood Shadow Divine Skill, rumored to be the Joyous Sect's core art, contained only the Extermination Three Forms, each move pushing the user's limits, killing both enemy and self.
Zhu weighed them. The Five Limits was powerful but vast and complex. Mastery could take decades.
Without it, not only vengeance but even surviving the court's pursuit felt impossible.
For quick power, only the Blood Shadow Divine Skill would do.
But that meant sacrificing his life and… uniting with his mother.
"Zhu, you are a scholar. How can you think such vile thoughts? You shame your parents and your studies." Guilt surged. Zhu slapped his face hard.
The slaps stung, his head spun. He shook off the thoughts. Then he saw Mei's graceful figure outside the carriage. His heart raced again.
Since that day, Mei acted normal, but small gestures showed her turmoil.
Zhu's feelings had changed too. When he looked at Mei, he could not look away. Only now did he realize how beautiful she was.
As Hongmen's heir, Zhu was admired by many young women, all beautiful. None matched Mei.
Once one of the martial world's four phoenixes, the White Plum Fairy, Mei, at thirty-four, bore no marks of age. Her beauty was mature, radiant. Her skin was snow-white, her breasts full, her hips curved, her waist slender. No trace of childbirth marred her. Her maternal charm, like a blooming plum in snow, was a woman at her peak.
He had not noticed before. Now, her every move stirred his heart.
His father and Mei had been inseparable, deeply in love. After his father's death, Mei's heart was broken. She needed a man's comfort.
Mother, what should I do? Zhu thought.
Mei knew her son's thoughts. A mother always did.
Three years had passed since her husband's death. She raised Zhu through grief, taught him martial arts, and evaded enemies. Exhaustion consumed her. Only motherly love and loyalty to her husband kept her going.
At midnight, memories of her husband's kindness soaked her pillow with tears.
No matter how proper she was by day, loneliness gripped her at night. She recalled her husband's touch. Her body, young and craving love, ached with need. How could it not?
Zhu was growing. His body was taller, his arms stronger, his face more heroic. When he trained shirtless, sweat gleaming, focused, he was his father's image. Yet his delicate beauty, inherited from her, proved their bond. It intoxicated her, beyond her control.
To Zhu, she was a strict mother, cold and demanding, pushing his martial training for vengeance. But he did not know that as she scolded, her thighs trembled, wet with desire, barely able to stand.
She had long known Zhu admired her, but it was a son's innocent love.
After reading the manual, his gaze changed. It was the look of a young man eyeing a beautiful woman, lustful, heated, desiring. When their eyes met, he looked away in shame. Wise as she was, how could she miss his change?
Zhu, your every glance burns me like fire. It ignites my body, making me press my thighs together , she thought.
Zhu, I am glad you cling to me , she thought.
But it was forbidden. Her husband, her ancestors, were honorable heroes, respected in life and death. She could not let incest stain their legacy. She would face them in death with shame.
Even for vengeance, it was wrong. Using such a vile act to avenge her husband would betray him.
Her husband's love bound her. She would remain his widow, never loving another.
Mei sighed. Her breath was hot, her body burning. The forbidden love's temptation was strong.
She vowed to her husband to stay loyal. Opening her eyes, the stars above seemed like Zhu's bright gaze, watching every inch of her body.
Jueren, what should I do?, she thought.
The journey was harsh. Hooves struck the ground day and night. Ten days later, Mei and her son, Zhu, reached their hidden home in Hunan. Tucked deep in the mountains, it was secret, surrounded by wild land. No one lived nearby.
It was a safe hideout. Even Weiting's great power could not find them fast. Zhu could train without trouble.
Yet, Mei felt no happiness in their return. The death of her lost allies hurt deeply. Weiting's hold on the martial world grew stronger daily. He ruled all.
Sect leaders praised his skill and honor. No one remembered her husband's unfair death.
Worse, rumors flew through the martial world. Whispers blamed Mei and Zhu for strange actions. Some said they worked with Japanese invaders. Others tied them to her husband's murder.
The claims were silly, almost childish. But clear gossip made them seem true. Many in the Hongmen stopped talking to them. With the government chasing them, Mei and Zhu lived on thin ice.
"Damn it! It must be that dog Weiting's work," Zhu growled. He hit a courtyard pine with his palm.
Mei nodded quietly. Only Weiting could twist truth like this, making lies seem real.
A month passed. Zhu and Mei trained apart, working hard. They made little progress. Thirty days of effort brought no gain, not even to the first heaven's strength. Anger ate at them.
Zhu's parents were fighters, but he loved books. He spent more time in school than training. Raised in wealth, his fighting skills were weak despite his bloodline.
Mei, held back by her skill, struggled with the secret manual. No matter how hard she tried, she could not improve.
Fear grew. The "Five Limits Method" needed the thirty-third heaven to control the Five Limits Divine Fist's backlash. For now, they could only build basic inner power.
At night, Mei made Zhu sit on the bed to grow his energy. By day, she taught him outer skills.
Her husband's sudden death left his "Vast Heaven Soft Palm" untaught. Mei had to share her own skills: the seventy-two forms of Snowflower Swordplay and the Maiden's Heart Technique. These were her sect's secret arts, made for women.
They were not perfect for Zhu, but she had nothing better to give.