HEAVEN SWORD DRAGON SABRE Book 2 of 2

The Bride's Pale Arms Tore The Red Dress Part 1

Zhou Zhiruo laughed and said, "I am not the only one who always remembers her; there is someone else beside me. I wouldn't be able to see what is in your heart unless you have guilty feelings."

Zhang Wuji thought that Zhou Zhiruo and he were engaged [orig. bai2tou2zhi1yue1 – arrangement/agreement to live together until their heads are white]. This time they were facing a life and death situation together, their feelings could not be divided and he could not conceal anything from her. Thereupon he said, "Zhiruo, there is something I want to tell you. Please don't be angry."

"I will be angry if I deserve to be angry," Zhou Zhiruo said.

Zhang Wuji's heart sank. He thought that he had made a heavy oath in her presence that he would kill Zhao Min to avenge his cousin Yin Li, but when he saw Zhao Min, not only he did not kill her, he spent the night in the wilderness and traveled side-by-side with her instead. This matter was really difficult to explain. He was not good in fabricating lies, and he was ashamed of his own conduct, his awkward expression easily revealed his feelings.

While he was still musing, their rides had reached a small town. Noticing that the day was almost spent, they decided to lodge for the night in a small inn. After dinner, he massaged the acupoints on Zhou Zhiruo's back. He was not familiar with the Beggar Clan's sealing acupoint technique, but a long time had passed; after massaging her arteries all around, finally the acupoints were unsealed. He said in his heart, "Although the Beggar Clan Elders' martial art skill was not extremely strong, their acupoint sealing technique is really marvelous. Zhiruo is too proud to ask them to unseal the acupoints during the banquet, and the man who sealed her acupoint pretended to forget. Hey, hey, these beggars wanted to save face at all cost; after suffering a crushing defeat from me, they wanted to show their superiority in acupoint sealing technique."

Zhou Zhiruo did not like the musty smell of that inn. "Let us go out for a walk," she said, "I need to work my blood circulation."

"All right!" Zhang Wuji said. Holding her hand, he took her outside the town.

By this time the sun was setting, the western sky was as red as blood. They leisurely wandered for a while before finally sitting down under a big tree. They watched as the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountain and the sky gradually turned dark. Zhang Wuji gathered his courage and told her how he met Zhao Min at the Mi Le Temple, how they found Mo Shenggu's corpse inside a cave, how he met Song Yuanqiao and the others, and how he followed the Ming Cult's blazing fire signs in circle around the Hebei province; he told her everything. Finally he grabbed Zhou Zhiruo's hands and said, "Zhiruo, you and I are not married yet, but we can be considered husband and wife already; I am not going to conceal anything from you. Miss Zhao insists to see my Yifu face to face; she says she has some important matters to ask him. At that time, a suspicion started to rise in my heart. Now, the more I think about it, the more afraid I am." As he was saying the last few sentences, his voice started to tremble.

"What are you afraid of?" Zhou Zhiruo asked.

Zhang Wuji felt the pair of small hands in his palms was as cold as ice and slightly trembled. "I remember Yifu's illness," he said, "Whenever it breaks out, he would not recognize other people. In the past his madness suddenly flared-out, and he almost killed my Mama, thereupon Mama shot his eyes blind. When I was born, Yifu was about to kill my Papa and Mama, luckily he heard my cry and regained his consciousness. I am afraid ... I am really afraid ..."

"What are you afraid of?" Zhou Zhiruo asked.

Zhang Wuji sighed and said, "Actually, I cannot bear to say it, but I am really worried that my cousin was ... was ... killed by Yifu."

Zhou Zhiruo jumped up and with a shaky voice said, "Xie Daxia [great hero Xie] is a chivalrous hero who always upholds justice; he has always shown kindness and love toward us, his juniors. How can he kill Miss Yin?"