Chapter 51: Two Killers In the Tempest (7)
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"Look at this!" Quan Jinfa picked up one particular skull and handed it over to Zhu Cong. When Zhu Cong inspected the skull closely, he noticed that on the dome of the skull there were five holes positioned as though they were made by fingers. He tried with his own hand and the five holes were positioned properly for his fingers. The hole for his thumb was a little bigger than the others, while the hole for his pinky was a little smaller. It seemed as if somebody had carefully carved the holes into the skull to match a particular hand. Obviously it was not a child's toy that the little kids had left here. Zhu Cong's expression changed dramatically. He bent over and picked up two more skulls and discovered that they also had these holes in them.
"Could somebody have made these holes with their fingers?" He wondered. But there had not been anybody in the world with martial arts skills so powerful as to be able to smash holes through bone just using fingers. With this realization, he was rendered silent and awestruck.
"Could it be some man eating beast or monster that lives around here?" Han Xiaoying said, almost yelling.
\
"That's right, it must be a monster." Han Baoju concurred.
"But if it is some beast, then why would it or could it put the skulls in such neat piles?" Quan Jinfa asked, deep in thought.
"How are they placed?" Ke Zhen'E said, after making his way over to them.
"In a three pyramid formation; every pile consists of nine skulls." Quan Jinfa answered.
"Are they stacked in three layers, with five skulls on the bottom layer, three in the middle layer, and one on the top?"
"Yes!" Quan Jinfa was shocked. "Big Brother, how did you know that?"
"Go one hundred steps northeast and northwest and tell me what you see!" Ke Zhen'E did not answer his question but instead, anxiously directed them.
His demeanor was one of extreme anxiety, almost bordering panic. This was so different from his normal calm steadiness that the other Freaks did not dare waste one second and in threes, they headed off in the two directions. Soon, Han Xiaoying, who went to the northeast, and Quan Jinfa, who went to the northwest, yelled out at the same instant.
"There are skull piles here too!"
"This is a matter of life and death!" Ke Zhen'E literally flew over to the pile of skulls at the northwest and forcefully, but quietly ordered. "Don't raise your voice, no matter what!"
The three Freaks were quite taken aback by his words and weren't quite sure what to make of them. Ke Zhen'E quickly made his way to Han Xiaoying's group to the northeast and told them the same thing.
"Is it monsters or mortal enemies?" Zhang Ahsheng asked, with a hushed voice.
"They are mortal enemies of mine. They are formidable experts and they killed my brother." By this time the Freaks in the other group had made their way over as well. Hearing his words, all of the Freaks were quite surprised.
The six knew that Ke Zhen'E's brother, Ke Pixie had higher skills than Ke Zhen'E and was also a very intelligent and cautious man. His killer must have been a lethal nemesis. The Seven Freaks talked about everything with each other and about two years ago they learned of the death of Ke Pixie. But Ke Zhen'E never revealed how his brother died or who was responsible.
Ke Zhen'E picked up a skull and ran his hands over it inspecting it. After finding the holes he took his right hand and tried out the holes with his fingers. "They did it. They did it. They actually mastered it." He mumbled to himself before turning to the other Freaks. "There are three piles here as well?"
"Yes!" Han Xiaoying answered.
"Are there eight skulls in every pile?" Ke Zhen'E inquired.
"One pile has nine; the other two piles have eight." Han Xiaoying again answered.
"Go and count the other groups as well." Han Xiaoying swiftly ran over to the other group and then returned just as quickly. "There's a pile of seven over there; they are all decapitated heads and the flesh has not decomposed yet."
"Then that means they will be here very soon." Ke Zhen'E concluded quietly and handed the skull over to Quan Jinfa. "Carefully return this to where it was, and don't leave any trace of our presence."
Quan Jinfa quickly placed everything back in their original positions and returned to Ke Zhen'E. All of their eyes were upon Ke Zhen'E as they quietly waited for his explanation.
"It's Copper Corpse and Iron Corpse!" Ke Zhen'E looked as if he was looking up at the sky and his face twitched continuously.
"But aren't they dead? Can they still be alive?" This news shocked Zhu Cong tremendously.
"I thought they were dead as well. But it turns out that they have been hiding here training their 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws'," Ke Zhen'E said. "Brothers, quickly mount your horses and ride south as fast as you can and don't come back! Wait for me after you have gone five thousand li. Wait for ten days. If I don't show up on the tenth day, then you need not wait any longer."
"What are you saying Big Brother?" Han Xiaoying anxiously asked. "We have all tasted each other's blood when we swore to live and die together! Why are you telling us to leave now?"
"Go! Leave!" Ke Zhen'E repeatedly waved his hand. "You don't have any time to waste!"
"What do you take us for; a bunch of heartless bastards?" Han Baoju angrily rebuked.
"If the seven of us lose, then we'll just end our lives together. That's what we have always said." Zhang Ahsheng said, voicing his objection. "Since when have we ever run away?"
"These two possess incredible martial skills. Now that they've mastered the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws', the seven of us are definitely no match for them. Why stay here and waste your life for no reason?" Ke Zhen'E protested.
The other Freaks knew how proud Ke Zhen'E was and that he would never admit defeat. Even when facing a master like Qiu Chuji he would still throw caution to the winds and fight with abandon. To hear him talk about these two people like this, it could be inferred that their power was something beyond comprehension.
"In that case, let's leave together!" Quan Jinfa proposed.
"They condemned me to a life of suffering; but that I can deal with." Ke Zhen'E coldly replied. "However, I have to avenge what they did to my brother!"
"Share the blessings, share the hardships!" Nan Xiren declared. He never says much, but he need say nothing more.
Ke Zhen'E thought about it. He knew that his sworn brothers and sister were people who valued honor and would never consider running to save their own lives. The words he just said were based on his worry for their lives and he now realized that they bordered on being offensive to them. With this thought, he sighed. "Alright, if that's the case, then please be careful," he said. "'Copper Corpse' is a man, 'Iron Corpse' is a woman and they are husband and wife. They are called the 'Twin Killers of the Dark Winds'. About two years ago, the two of them were just starting to train the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws'. They killed a lot of innocent people. My brother was invited to join an expedition against them, so he sent someone to inform and invite me to join the expedition. However, at that time the seven of us were in Shandong and Hebei provinces looking for Li Ping. We'd just found some clues about her whereabouts. It seems that some years back someone saw a military commander and a pregnant woman in man's clothes shouting and screaming in the streets. That woman was seemingly mad and shouted that she wanted to kill that commander for killing her husband. They were on their way north, so it must have been Li Ping and Duan Tiande. I couldn't just leave and join the expedition, especially since we'd finally found some clues about where Li Ping went. When we were up north, we lost track of Li Ping and Duan Tiande. It was years later before we found out that Li Ping was in Mongolia and had given birth to Guo Jing. Last year in the spring, a messenger came to tell me that my brother had been killed in the expedition against the 'Twin Killers of the Dark Winds'. It was also that messenger who informed who the 'Twin Killers' were and where they came from and what styles of martial arts they practised. I knew that I would be unable to avenge my brother then and decided not to tell you and we continued our search for Guo Jing."
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"Look at this!" Quan Jinfa picked up one particular skull and handed it over to Zhu Cong. When Zhu Cong inspected the skull closely, he noticed that on the dome of the skull there were five holes positioned as though they were made by fingers. He tried with his own hand and the five holes were positioned properly for his fingers. The hole for his thumb was a little bigger than the others, while the hole for his pinky was a little smaller. It seemed as if somebody had carefully carved the holes into the skull to match a particular hand. Obviously it was not a child's toy that the little kids had left here. Zhu Cong's expression changed dramatically. He bent over and picked up two more skulls and discovered that they also had these holes in them.
"Could somebody have made these holes with their fingers?" He wondered. But there had not been anybody in the world with martial arts skills so powerful as to be able to smash holes through bone just using fingers. With this realization, he was rendered silent and awestruck.
"Could it be some man eating beast or monster that lives around here?" Han Xiaoying said, almost yelling.
\
"That's right, it must be a monster." Han Baoju concurred.
"But if it is some beast, then why would it or could it put the skulls in such neat piles?" Quan Jinfa asked, deep in thought.
"How are they placed?" Ke Zhen'E said, after making his way over to them.
"In a three pyramid formation; every pile consists of nine skulls." Quan Jinfa answered.
"Are they stacked in three layers, with five skulls on the bottom layer, three in the middle layer, and one on the top?"
"Yes!" Quan Jinfa was shocked. "Big Brother, how did you know that?"
"Go one hundred steps northeast and northwest and tell me what you see!" Ke Zhen'E did not answer his question but instead, anxiously directed them.
His demeanor was one of extreme anxiety, almost bordering panic. This was so different from his normal calm steadiness that the other Freaks did not dare waste one second and in threes, they headed off in the two directions. Soon, Han Xiaoying, who went to the northeast, and Quan Jinfa, who went to the northwest, yelled out at the same instant.
"There are skull piles here too!"
"This is a matter of life and death!" Ke Zhen'E literally flew over to the pile of skulls at the northwest and forcefully, but quietly ordered. "Don't raise your voice, no matter what!"
The three Freaks were quite taken aback by his words and weren't quite sure what to make of them. Ke Zhen'E quickly made his way to Han Xiaoying's group to the northeast and told them the same thing.
"Is it monsters or mortal enemies?" Zhang Ahsheng asked, with a hushed voice.
"They are mortal enemies of mine. They are formidable experts and they killed my brother." By this time the Freaks in the other group had made their way over as well. Hearing his words, all of the Freaks were quite surprised.
The six knew that Ke Zhen'E's brother, Ke Pixie had higher skills than Ke Zhen'E and was also a very intelligent and cautious man. His killer must have been a lethal nemesis. The Seven Freaks talked about everything with each other and about two years ago they learned of the death of Ke Pixie. But Ke Zhen'E never revealed how his brother died or who was responsible.
Ke Zhen'E picked up a skull and ran his hands over it inspecting it. After finding the holes he took his right hand and tried out the holes with his fingers. "They did it. They did it. They actually mastered it." He mumbled to himself before turning to the other Freaks. "There are three piles here as well?"
"Yes!" Han Xiaoying answered.
"Are there eight skulls in every pile?" Ke Zhen'E inquired.
"One pile has nine; the other two piles have eight." Han Xiaoying again answered.
"Go and count the other groups as well." Han Xiaoying swiftly ran over to the other group and then returned just as quickly. "There's a pile of seven over there; they are all decapitated heads and the flesh has not decomposed yet."
"Then that means they will be here very soon." Ke Zhen'E concluded quietly and handed the skull over to Quan Jinfa. "Carefully return this to where it was, and don't leave any trace of our presence."
Quan Jinfa quickly placed everything back in their original positions and returned to Ke Zhen'E. All of their eyes were upon Ke Zhen'E as they quietly waited for his explanation.
"It's Copper Corpse and Iron Corpse!" Ke Zhen'E looked as if he was looking up at the sky and his face twitched continuously.
"But aren't they dead? Can they still be alive?" This news shocked Zhu Cong tremendously.
"I thought they were dead as well. But it turns out that they have been hiding here training their 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws'," Ke Zhen'E said. "Brothers, quickly mount your horses and ride south as fast as you can and don't come back! Wait for me after you have gone five thousand li. Wait for ten days. If I don't show up on the tenth day, then you need not wait any longer."
"What are you saying Big Brother?" Han Xiaoying anxiously asked. "We have all tasted each other's blood when we swore to live and die together! Why are you telling us to leave now?"
"Go! Leave!" Ke Zhen'E repeatedly waved his hand. "You don't have any time to waste!"
"What do you take us for; a bunch of heartless bastards?" Han Baoju angrily rebuked.
"If the seven of us lose, then we'll just end our lives together. That's what we have always said." Zhang Ahsheng said, voicing his objection. "Since when have we ever run away?"
"These two possess incredible martial skills. Now that they've mastered the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws', the seven of us are definitely no match for them. Why stay here and waste your life for no reason?" Ke Zhen'E protested.
The other Freaks knew how proud Ke Zhen'E was and that he would never admit defeat. Even when facing a master like Qiu Chuji he would still throw caution to the winds and fight with abandon. To hear him talk about these two people like this, it could be inferred that their power was something beyond comprehension.
"In that case, let's leave together!" Quan Jinfa proposed.
"They condemned me to a life of suffering; but that I can deal with." Ke Zhen'E coldly replied. "However, I have to avenge what they did to my brother!"
"Share the blessings, share the hardships!" Nan Xiren declared. He never says much, but he need say nothing more.
Ke Zhen'E thought about it. He knew that his sworn brothers and sister were people who valued honor and would never consider running to save their own lives. The words he just said were based on his worry for their lives and he now realized that they bordered on being offensive to them. With this thought, he sighed. "Alright, if that's the case, then please be careful," he said. "'Copper Corpse' is a man, 'Iron Corpse' is a woman and they are husband and wife. They are called the 'Twin Killers of the Dark Winds'. About two years ago, the two of them were just starting to train the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws'. They killed a lot of innocent people. My brother was invited to join an expedition against them, so he sent someone to inform and invite me to join the expedition. However, at that time the seven of us were in Shandong and Hebei provinces looking for Li Ping. We'd just found some clues about her whereabouts. It seems that some years back someone saw a military commander and a pregnant woman in man's clothes shouting and screaming in the streets. That woman was seemingly mad and shouted that she wanted to kill that commander for killing her husband. They were on their way north, so it must have been Li Ping and Duan Tiande. I couldn't just leave and join the expedition, especially since we'd finally found some clues about where Li Ping went. When we were up north, we lost track of Li Ping and Duan Tiande. It was years later before we found out that Li Ping was in Mongolia and had given birth to Guo Jing. Last year in the spring, a messenger came to tell me that my brother had been killed in the expedition against the 'Twin Killers of the Dark Winds'. It was also that messenger who informed who the 'Twin Killers' were and where they came from and what styles of martial arts they practised. I knew that I would be unable to avenge my brother then and decided not to tell you and we continued our search for Guo Jing."
"Look at this!" Quan Jinfa picked up one particular skull and handed it over to Zhu Cong. When Zhu Cong inspected the skull closely, he noticed that on the dome of the skull there were five holes positioned as though they were made by fingers. He tried with his own hand and the five holes were positioned properly for his fingers. The hole for his thumb was a little bigger than the others, while the hole for his pinky was a little smaller. It seemed as if somebody had carefully carved the holes into the skull to match a particular hand. Obviously it was not a child's toy that the little kids had left here. Zhu Cong's expression changed dramatically. He bent over and picked up two more skulls and discovered that they also had these holes in them."Could somebody have made these holes with their fingers?" He wondered. But there had not been anybody in the world with martial arts skills so powerful as to be able to smash holes through bone just using fingers. With this realization, he was rendered silent and awestruck."Could it be some man eating beast or monster that lives around here?" Han Xiaoying said, almost yelling.\"That's right, it must be a monster." Han Baoju concurred."But if it is some beast, then why would it or could it put the skulls in such neat piles?" Quan Jinfa asked, deep in thought."How are they placed?" Ke Zhen'E said, after making his way over to them."In a three pyramid formation; every pile consists of nine skulls." Quan Jinfa answered."Are they stacked in three layers, with five skulls on the bottom layer, three in the middle layer, and one on the top?""Yes!" Quan Jinfa was shocked. "Big Brother, how did you know that?""Go one hundred steps northeast and northwest and tell me what you see!" Ke Zhen'E did not answer his question but instead, anxiously directed them.His demeanor was one of extreme anxiety, almost bordering panic. This was so different from his normal calm steadiness that the other Freaks did not dare waste one second and in threes, they headed off in the two directions. Soon, Han Xiaoying, who went to the northeast, and Quan Jinfa, who went to the northwest, yelled out at the same instant."There are skull piles here too!""This is a matter of life and death!" Ke Zhen'E literally flew over to the pile of skulls at the northwest and forcefully, but quietly ordered. "Don't raise your voice, no matter what!"The three Freaks were quite taken aback by his words and weren't quite sure what to make of them. Ke Zhen'E quickly made his way to Han Xiaoying's group to the northeast and told them the same thing."Is it monsters or mortal enemies?" Zhang Ahsheng asked, with a hushed voice."They are mortal enemies of mine. They are formidable experts and they killed my brother." By this time the Freaks in the other group had made their way over as well. Hearing his words, all of the Freaks were quite surprised.The six knew that Ke Zhen'E's brother, Ke Pixie had higher skills than Ke Zhen'E and was also a very intelligent and cautious man. His killer must have been a lethal nemesis. The Seven Freaks talked about everything with each other and about two years ago they learned of the death of Ke Pixie. But Ke Zhen'E never revealed how his brother died or who was responsible.Ke Zhen'E picked up a skull and ran his hands over it inspecting it. After finding the holes he took his right hand and tried out the holes with his fingers. "They did it. They did it. They actually mastered it." He mumbled to himself before turning to the other Freaks. "There are three piles here as well?""Yes!" Han Xiaoying answered."Are there eight skulls in every pile?" Ke Zhen'E inquired."One pile has nine; the other two piles have eight." Han Xiaoying again answered."Go and count the other groups as well." Han Xiaoying swiftly ran over to the other group and then returned just as quickly. "There's a pile of seven over there; they are all decapitated heads and the flesh has not decomposed yet.""Then that means they will be here very soon." Ke Zhen'E concluded quietly and handed the skull over to Quan Jinfa. "Carefully return this to where it was, and don't leave any trace of our presence."Quan Jinfa quickly placed everything back in their original positions and returned to Ke Zhen'E. All of their eyes were upon Ke Zhen'E as they quietly waited for his explanation."It's Copper Corpse and Iron Corpse!" Ke Zhen'E looked as if he was looking up at the sky and his face twitched continuously."But aren't they dead? Can they still be alive?" This news shocked Zhu Cong tremendously."I thought they were dead as well. But it turns out that they have been hiding here training their 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws'," Ke Zhen'E said. "Brothers, quickly mount your horses and ride south as fast as you can and don't come back! Wait for me after you have gone five thousand li. Wait for ten days. If I don't show up on the tenth day, then you need not wait any longer.""What are you saying Big Brother?" Han Xiaoying anxiously asked. "We have all tasted each other's blood when we swore to live and die together! Why are you telling us to leave now?""Go! Leave!" Ke Zhen'E repeatedly waved his hand. "You don't have any time to waste!""What do you take us for; a bunch of heartless bastards?" Han Baoju angrily rebuked."If the seven of us lose, then we'll just end our lives together. That's what we have always said." Zhang Ahsheng said, voicing his objection. "Since when have we ever run away?""These two possess incredible martial skills. Now that they've mastered the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws', the seven of us are definitely no match for them. Why stay here and waste your life for no reason?" Ke Zhen'E protested.The other Freaks knew how proud Ke Zhen'E was and that he would never admit defeat. Even when facing a master like Qiu Chuji he would still throw caution to the winds and fight with abandon. To hear him talk about these two people like this, it could be inferred that their power was something beyond comprehension."In that case, let's leave together!" Quan Jinfa proposed."They condemned me to a life of suffering; but that I can deal with." Ke Zhen'E coldly replied. "However, I have to avenge what they did to my brother!""Share the blessings, share the hardships!" Nan Xiren declared. He never says much, but he need say nothing more.Ke Zhen'E thought about it. He knew that his sworn brothers and sister were people who valued honor and would never consider running to save their own lives. The words he just said were based on his worry for their lives and he now realized that they bordered on being offensive to them. With this thought, he sighed. "Alright, if that's the case, then please be careful," he said. "'Copper Corpse' is a man, 'Iron Corpse' is a woman and they are husband and wife. They are called the 'Twin Killers of the Dark Winds'. About two years ago, the two of them were just starting to train the 'Nine Yin White Bone Claws'. They killed a lot of innocent people. My brother was invited to join an expedition against them, so he sent someone to inform and invite me to join the expedition. However, at that time the seven of us were in Shandong and Hebei provinces looking for Li Ping. We'd just found some clues about her whereabouts. It seems that some years back someone saw a military commander and a pregnant woman in man's clothes shouting and screaming in the streets. That woman was seemingly mad and shouted that she wanted to kill that commander for killing her husband. They were on their way north, so it must have been Li Ping and Duan Tiande. I couldn't just leave and join the expedition, especially since we'd finally found some clues about where Li Ping went. When we were up north, we lost track of Li Ping and Duan Tiande. It was years later before we found out that Li Ping was in Mongolia and had given birth to Guo Jing. Last year in the spring, a messenger came to tell me that my brother had been killed in the expedition against the 'Twin Killers of the Dark Winds'. It was also that messenger who informed who the 'Twin Killers' were and where they came from and what styles of martial arts they practised. I knew that I would be unable to avenge my brother then and decided not to tell you and we continued our search for Guo Jing."
