The Ten Canvases

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Zhao Wanyan shook her head sadly and said, “Did father… really do all those things?” Xiang Yang dismounted from his horse and exclaimed loudly, “Chief Tong, I know very little about His Royal Highness Zhao. Even if what you said is true, I still witnessed firsthand Chief Guo San’s raiding and plundering. Even though the purpose of establishing the White Tiger Tribe was to fight against His Royal Highness Zhao, all the other measures that were taken seemed to have no connection to this, so it truly was not too bright a move. You all wish to detain Lady Zhao, but this is something that I, Xiang Yang, begs to differ upon.”

With a swish, Tong Wanhu drew out his Ghost Head Sword and yelled, “If Brother Xiang is determined to do this then there’s no point in negotiating with you, we’ll just have to drag you down the mountain ourselves!”  Xiang Yang raised his eyebrows and said, “Much obliged!” Tong Wanhu was furious; he let out a battle cry as the three chiefs came to blows in unison. Tong Wanhu worked his family’s distinct swordplay, which consisted of very powerful and damaging strikes, while Ding Ze used his bare hands to attack, forming an eagle claw with each hand. Every strike was extraordinarily formidable, and Guo Degui’s dual hammers were soon hurled into the river. Without his weapon of choice, he opted for using a steel rod. 

Xiang Yang calmly breathed out as he focused on finding an opening in his opponents’ movements. Bare-handedly, he slapped aside the eagle claws and used his palm to forcibly block the sword. In less than three moves, his kick soon connected with a vital acupuncture point on Guo Degui’s waist. The force was so great that it sent his plump body flying, flinging it lifelessly to the ground. Both Tong and Ding did not dare underestimate their enemy. Their subsequent attacks were intricate and controlled, not a hint of recklessness from sight.

Zhao Wanyan watched as her lover single-handedly fought the two enemies at once. Cold sweat beaded her palms and fear gripped her heart, but there was nothing she could do to help. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her leg out of nowhere; she had fallen into the hands of a brigand. 

“Ah!” Zhao Wanyan screamed as a few brigands yanked her down from her horse. They were fascinated by her magnificent beauty, and while the chiefs were locked in battle, they made use of this opportunity to take advantage of her. Six out of seven of them surrounded her and pressed her against a tree. Without any regard for her piteous and appalled expression, they each reached out and laid their dirty hands on her.

“Go to hell!” The moment the scene unfolded in front of him, Xiang Yang was combusting in rage. Without minding his own safety, he broke free from the attacks of Tong and Ding. He whirled his palms several times toward them, and in a matter of seconds, the brigands broke out into blood-curdling screams, sending each of them soaring out. Drawing her into his embrace with his left hand, he asked her, “Are you okay?” Zhao Wanyan was still in shock as she nodded mutely, then she screamed in horror, stuttering, “There’s… there’s blood, Big Brother Xiang, your left leg is…!” It was only then that Xiang Yang noticed the sharp pain coming from his left leg and soon realized that he had been wounded back there when he had rushed to her aid. In that moment of distraction, he had been struck by Tong Wanhu’s Ghost Head Sword. To make matters worse, before he could even apply pressure to the acupuncture point to reduce the blood flow, the threatening glow of Tong Wanhu’s sword came into sight, so too did the attacking claws of Ding Ze appear, accompanied by a number of brigands who had surrounded them in aid of the fight against them. 

In such a dire situation, Xiang Yang did not hesitate the slightest to step forward to shield Zhao Wanyan. He channeled his internal energy furiously through three cycles of qi, and with a loud roar, his arms suddenly started to make a series of moves like the raging waves and wind, endlessly striking around him. Another strike took place as the previous one came to an end, this time it was the Nine Consecutive Thunder Palms. “Thunder, shake the mountains!” he cried out. As he did, it was almost as if all the thunders in the sky exploded into view, leaving every being trembling and defenseless.

In a split second, the Ghost Head Sword quivered as its tip was subjected to its force, breaking it into half; Ding Ze’s eagle claws experienced a setback. He suffered two consecutive blows to his chest and abdomen, fresh blood came bursting out of his mouth as he staggered back a few steps. All the brigands nearby Xiang Yang recoiled from the impact; they either rammed into trees or stumbled to the ground. All in all, the full power of Xiang Yang’s attack had been aimed toward the duo Tong and Ding, and the brigands were merely victims of the aftershock of his attacks. Thus, even though they suffered severe injuries, they were far from their deaths. Tong Wanhu had managed to block his attack in time, but his internal energy was chaotic. His expression changed significantly as he took a glimpse at what remained of his sword, unconsciously taking two steps backward.

Xiang Yang had used all his energy for this ultimate move. His blood and qi were in a mess, as warm blood gushed out from his fresh leg wound. He nearly lost his balance and involuntarily let out a grunt. Zhao Wanyan was horrified. “Big Brother Xiang!” Xiang Yang looked back at her as he smiled, “I’m fine!” He came to his senses, pressed a number of acupuncture points on his leg, and his blood flow began to slow. Lifting his head up, he quickly made a thorough scan of his surroundings.

The brigands were absolutely stunned by his show of pure power. For a while, no one dared to tread forward, instead, many of them began to retreat.

Suddenly a deafening roar pierced through the air, sending a tremor of fear through everyone. The roar resounded through the valley, as the white tiger slowly plodded forward in the direction of Xiang Yang and Zhao Wanyan, its tail swaying slowly from side to side like a pendulum. The gleam in its eyes was unreadable, as it let out a deep roar.