Sin Becomes a God

Chapter 26: Women as Capable as Men

Inside the Zhenwu Hall on Wudang Mountain, Zhang Sanfeng, his expression grave, surveyed his surroundings. Faced with the “Ten Fragrances Muscle-Softening Powder”—the most potent poison under heaven—hundreds of Wudang disciples had all turned into helpless wimps. Zhang Sanfeng, however, as a先天 martial artist, relied on his overwhelming inner energy to hold his breath, thereby avoiding the poison’s effects. Yuan army soldiers armed with powerful bows and crossbows poured into the Zhenwu Hall in an unending stream. “You fat bastard… where’s that fiery temper of yours gone? Back in the day, after taking a single palm strike from you, it took me a full half-year to recover… What’s the matter? Now that you see the lives of your disciples and their descendants are all in our hands, have you backed down? Hahahahahaha…” Lu Zhangke’s sinister laughter echoed throughout the Zhenwu Hall. He Biweng, his eyes brimming with derision, chimed in with a laugh: “You fat bastard, as long as you kowtow once to the two of us, we’ll release one Wudang disciple… ten kowtows, ten released… counting Song Yuanqiao and the others… let’s round it off—as long as you kowtow a full thousand times, we’ll release everyone in the Wudang School. How about that?” “Kneel, then… Weren’t you such a tough fighter back in the day? Now you’re backing down… Hahahaha… Zhang Sanfeng… You’ve finally met your match!!!” Lu Zhangke roared. The “decoy” lying among the Wudang disciples glanced at Lu Zhangke and He Biweng’s smug, triumphant expressions and thought to himself with disdain, “Villains always end up dying because they talk too much…These two idiots… why didn’t they just swarm Zhang Sanfeng and take him out? Sigh… They don’t even have the resolve to be villains—they’re a total waste of the glorious title of ‘villain’…” Unlike Song Qingshu—who had materialized as the “decoy”—those radical Wudang disciples shouted directly. “Grandmaster… Wudang’s reputation is great; we have nothing to fear in life or death… This disciple will take his leave first…” After mustering all his strength to shout those final words, the Wudang disciple bit his tongue and killed himself. The “stand-in doll” lying in the middle of the crowd couldn’t help but curl his lip. “Damn… bite my tongue? I admire you… Sigh, don’t you know that biting your tongue to commit suicide not only requires courage but also means enduring the agony of suffocation? It’s arguably one of the most painful ways to die—once the tongue is severed, it spasms and contracts, blocking the throat, and it takes at least three to five minutes before you suffocate to death… I’m not that stupid…” Watching those Wudang disciples who would rather bite their tongues to death than suffer humiliation, Zhang Sanfeng—his expression grave—waved his hands, sending dozens of streams of true qi shooting toward the sleep-inducing acupoints of the Wudang disciples slumped on the ground. He stretched, took a deep breath, and—standing at this crossroads between life and death—Zhang Sanfeng’s face actually broke into a look of resignation, as if nothing mattered at all. “When you’ve lived this long… you come to see through all fame and fortune… Everyone must die eventually; it’s just a matter of whether it’s as light as a feather or as heavy as Mount Tai—it’s no big deal! A fight? This old Taoist has never been afraid in over a hundred years! If you’ve got the guts, come at me!” “Clap, clap, clap, clap…” Crisp applause rang out. The layers upon layers of Yuan soldiers parted like a tide. Zhao Min, clad in a white brocade robe and wearing a golden crown, slowly stepped forward, fanning herself with a folding fan. Behind her followed three men dressed as household servants. Upon seeing Zhao Min arrive in person, Lu Zhangke and He Biweng’s arrogant and overbearing expressions faded, replaced by a look of flattery and deference. Lu Zhangke and He Biweng—the two renowned “Xuanming Elders” of the martial arts world—actually bowed simultaneously to Zhao Min. “Princess…” Zhao Min, with her rosy lips and pearly teeth, merely gave a slight nod in acknowledgment. The three men dressed as servants standing behind her hurriedly brought over a golden chair, intricately carved with patterns of soaring phoenixes, and placed it behind her. After Zhao Min curtsied and sat down, she crossed her legs and surveyed Zhang Sanfeng—the undisputed patriarch of the martial arts world, renowned for decades—with her phoenix-like eyes. “Master Zhang… why put yourself through this? As the saying goes, even an ant clings to life… Even if you’re not thinking of yourself, shouldn’t you consider the lives and livelihoods of the over a thousand members of the Wudang School? At present, your esteemed disciples Song Yuanqiao and Yu Lianzhou are all in my custody. As long as you submit to the imperial court, my father, the Prince of Ruyang, will petition His Majesty to officially designate the Wudang School as the state religion—and you, Master Zhang, will even be granted the honorable title of ‘Guardian Monk of the Nation’!” Faced with Zhao Min’s enticement, Zhang Sanfeng chuckled softly: “Little girl, I can tell you come from an extraordinary background, and I must say your courage is admirable! Aren’t you afraid I’ll capture you and use you to exchange for my disciples?” As the saying goes, a person’s reputation casts a long shadow. For all these years, Zhang Sanfeng had been revered as a legend in the martial arts world—undoubtedly the greatest martial artist of all time. Hearing Zhang Sanfeng speak thus, if this Xiantian martial artist were to truly risk his life and give it his all to capture Zhao Min, neither the Two Elders of Xuanming nor the three household guards standing behind Zhao Min would have the confidence to withstand Zhang Sanfeng’s assault. The three servants standing behind Zhao Min hurriedly stepped forward to shield her. Even He Biweng and Lu Zhangke braced themselves for battle. After all, they were now holding over a thousand lives from Wudang as hostages to pressure Zhang Sanfeng. If Zhang Sanfeng—this Xiantian martial artist—were truly driven to the brink and were to lay a hand on Zhao Min, then Lu Zhangke, He Biweng, and the others would have to face the wrath of the Prince of Ruyang. But to everyone’s surprise, Zhao Min merely paused for a moment, then concealed the fear in her eyes and put on an air of nonchalance, smiling as she said, “A Da, A Er, and A San, step back. Master Zhang is a senior figure in the martial arts world—how could he possibly lay a hand on a young woman like me? Besides… aside from the heroes of the Wudang School who are currently in my care, the heroes of the five schools—Emei, Kongtong, Huashan, Kunlun, and Shaolin—are also my guests here… If Master Zhang truly does not care about the survival of the entire righteous martial arts world, then by all means, go ahead and attack me…” “Master Zhang… In truth, the Yuan Dynasty’s territory stretches for ten thousand li, and our founding emperor laid the foundation for an empire that will endure for ten thousand generations! If you, Master Zhang, were to simply nod and pledge allegiance to our Great Yuan Dynasty, you could avert a war. The entire righteous martial arts world would be eternally grateful for your actions today, and the Wudang School would rise to become the leading force under heaven… Why not seize this opportunity?” Zhang Sanfeng was taken aback at first, then burst into a loud, hearty laugh. “Hahahaha… If you possessed the body of a man, your strategic brilliance would certainly make you worthy of a marquisate or a general’s post! High office and lavish rewards may be tempting, but they are all stained with the blood of our Han people… This old Taoist dares not enjoy such things while betraying my conscience… As for my good-for-nothing disciples… heh heh… Children and grandchildren have their own destinies; I believe Heaven never leaves anyone without a way forward… Enough small talk—let’s get down to business…” Seeing Zhang Sanfeng assume a fighting stance, Zhao Min—still unwilling to give up—unfolded the folding fan in her hand and glanced back, giving a slight nod to the “Eight Divine Archers” behind her. After receiving their signal, the “Eight Divine Archers” turned and shouted to the warriors behind them. Before long, the sparse clinking of chains rang out. Although Zhang Sanfeng had no idea what scheme Zhao Min—whose cunning and wit rivaled that of any man of her time—was hatching, he still furrowed his brow. Over thirty men and women, dressed in a variety of styles, were escorted out. When Zhang Sanfeng saw Yin Liting lying on the soft couch, a cold glint flashed in his cloudy eyes. As a先天 martial artist, how could Zhang Sanfeng fail to see that Yin Liting’s joints had been crushed beyond recognition? Overcome with indescribable grief, Zhang Sanfeng called out softly, “Liting…” Having survived a terrible ordeal only to finally see his master, Yin Liting—now a cripple—found himself being used by the enemy as a bargaining chip against Zhang Sanfeng. Overcome with shame, tears welled up in his fierce eyes as he said, “Master… your disciple… your disciple is useless…” “Master Zhang, I know you were overcome with grief upon learning that Zhang Wuji had fallen off the cliff, so I mobilized all my subordinates to search for Young Master Zhang on your behalf. By some strange twist of fate, we discovered that Young Master Zhang Wuji has actually become the leader of the Ming Sect… and these people are all the Ming Sect’s top martial artists…Tell me, if you were to meet an untimely end today, and the bodies of a host of Ming Cult masters were found on Wudang Mountain, what do you think the outcome would be?” Zhao Min asked with a hint of amusement. Upon hearing the news that “Zhang Wuji” was still alive, Zhang Sanfeng’s furrowed brow relaxed, but when he heard Zhao Min’s next words, his expression darkened. How could Zhang Sanfeng, who had lived for a hundred years, fail to see through Zhao Min’s scheme to frame the Ming Cult after slaughtering Wudang? “Hehe… I never expected my poor Wuji to not only survive such a catastrophe but also become the leader of the Ming Cult. As for the outcome you mentioned? Naturally, the entire Central Plains martial arts world will regard my poor, ill-fated Wuji as a murderer who betrayed his master and dishonored his ancestors. I imagine that by then, you’ll deliberately order your men to let Yuan Qiao and the others escape, so that the Yuan Dynasty can sit back and watch the martial artists of the Central Plains slaughter one another without losing a single soldier. It seems the Six Great Sects’ siege of Bright Summit was also your doing, wasn’t it? Such cunning… it appears I’ve underestimated you…” Zhao Min curtsied and laughed heartily, “Master Zhang, your praise is too high—I dare not accept it…” If looks could kill, Zhao Min would have been beheaded long ago by the furious stares of the Ming Sect members. “Pah! You demoness! You’ll meet a terrible end! Using us to blackmail Master Zhang—what kind of hero are you? If you’ve got the guts, let go of Wei Yixiao and face me one-on-one!” “Hmph! Even if you, you witch, were to kill us all today, my grandson will lead tens of thousands of our followers to overthrow your Yuan Dynasty rule! Hahahaha… I, Yin Tianzheng, will be waiting for you in the underworld!” “Exactly! The Young Master’s divine martial arts are unmatched—he will surely avenge us then! Wicked woman… just you wait!” Xiao Zhao shouted. Zhao Min paid no heed to these insults. She eyed Yin Tianzheng, Wei Yixiao, and the others as if watching a farce. “I’ve never been a hero or a champion… Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘The sting of a wasp’s tail is most venomous, but a woman’s heart is even more treacherous’? A one-on-one duel? Haha… Do you think this is a children’s brawl? In war, there’s only victory or defeat—no question of honor or dishonor. Besides, history is written by the victors… I hear your Grand Master Zhang dotes on you, his little maid, doesn’t he? I wonder if Grand Master Zhang will still dote on you so much after I scar your face…” As she spoke, Zhao Min stood up and walked slowly toward Xiao Zhao, casually drawing a dagger from the waist of a warrior standing nearby and pressing it against Xiao Zhao’s fair, delicate cheek. As the cold blade swept past, Xiao Zhao closed her eyes in fear, but to her surprise, Zhao Min ran the back of the dagger across her fair cheek. Though it didn’t break the skin, it left a red mark. “Little maid, if you keep talking back… do you think I’d pull all your teeth out?” Zhao Min laughed harshly. Just then, a deep, menacing voice rang out, reaching everyone’s ears. “If you dare touch a single hair on Xiao Zhao’s head, I’ll strip you naked, break your limbs, and sell you into a brothel, where you’ll be ravished by thousands and trampled by tens of thousands. I’d love to see where the Prince of Ruyang will hide his face then…” That familiar voice caused Xiao Zhao, the White-Eyebrow Eagle King, Zhang Sanfeng, and the others to cry out in shock. “Young Master…” “Wuji…”