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Niu Ben held the Wolf Tooth Club tightly and coldly asked, "Lin Ning? What do you want?" Lin Ning's expression turned serious, his face grave, and his eyes reflected determination as he replied, "I beg your pardon for my rudeness!" As soon as he finished speaking, the Sunlight Blade in his hand struck out like a silver flash towards Niu Ben. The Sunlight Blade shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight and snow, the blade cutting through the air with a fierce wind. Niu Ben was taken aback by Lin Ning's sudden attack but quickly reacted, sidestepping to avoid the fierce blow. Lin Ning's strike missed, but he did not hesitate; with a twist of his wrist, he changed the angle of his attack and swept horizontally towards Niu Ben again. Niu Ben retreated swiftly, holding the Wolf Tooth Club in front of him in a defensive stance.
Lin Ning's assault came like a tide, one strike after another, each infused with immense power and exquisite skill. Niu Ben dodged while searching for an opportunity to counterattack. He seized a moment when Lin Ning's strikes slowed slightly and lunged forward, swinging the Wolf Tooth Club towards Lin Ning's chest with a whoosh. Seeing this, Lin Ning quickly retracted his blade to defend himself, using the back of the sword to block Niu Ben's blow. The clash echoed loudly in the air as metal met metal. Niu Ben felt a numbness in his hands as both fighters stepped back, their gazes locked in a tense standoff, signaling that an even fiercer confrontation was about to unfold.
Taking a deep breath, Niu Ben swung the Wolf Tooth Club at Lin Ning again. Lin Ning seized the moment and struck Niu Ben's wrist with the back of his Sunlight Blade, hitting an acupoint. Niu Ben’s arm went numb, causing the Wolf Tooth Club to drop into the snow.
Sai Xianhua's brows furrowed in anger and surprise upon witnessing her husband defeated by Lin Ning. With a fierce shout, she brandished her Double Hooks and darted towards Lin Ning like lightning. The Double Hooks glimmered coldly in the sunlight, resembling two agile venomous snakes aiming for Lin Ning’s vital points. Sai Xianhua moved gracefully, her steps light as she unleashed a flurry of attacks with her Double Hooks. Yet Lin Ning remained calm and collected, deftly dodging her strikes.
As Sai Xianhua continued her relentless assault without success, she growled through gritted teeth, "Let's see how long you can keep dodging!" Lin Ning furrowed his brow slightly; spotting an opening as Sai Xianhua lunged again, he suddenly reached out and grabbed her Double Hooks. Sai Xianhua pulled forcefully but found her weapons seemingly trapped as if caught in an iron grip. With a gentle flick of his wrist, Lin Ning sent her stumbling forward several steps. Embarrassed and furious, she attempted to break free to attack again but realized her strength was insignificant against Lin Ning.
Taking advantage of this momentum, Lin Ning executed a backflip and struck Sai Xianhua’s back at an acupoint!
Standing tall with sincerity in his expression, Lin Ning bowed respectfully to Niu Ben and Sai Xianhua and said clearly, "I apologize for my actions; I mean no harm. I only ask that you take me and my junior sister to meet Hero Su." His gaze was firm yet pleading, filled with determination.
Niu Ben and Sai Xianhua understood that Lin Ning was highly skilled; killing them would be easy for him! They exchanged glances; Niu Ben’s expression softened slightly while Sai Xianhua nodded slightly. Niu Ben spoke up, "Hero Lin is indeed formidable; we admit our defeat willingly. If you release our acupoints, we will take you to see our master! However, let me be clear: whether my master can cure this girl depends on your fortune!"
Lin Ning was overjoyed and quickly released their acupoints.
Niu Ben and Sai Xianhua led Lin Ning and Yuan Yueming through the snowy terrain in the northwestern direction of Changbai Mountain. Thick snow covered the path; each step required effort to avoid slipping. After walking for over ten miles and feeling increasingly fatigued, their anticipation kept them from stopping. Finally, they passed through a mountain dip where the scenery suddenly changed. The continuous mountain range bent here revealing a narrow path ahead. After walking along this path for a while, they came upon a cave that stood out before Lin Ning’s eyes. Above it were three large characters carved from ice: "Residence of Immortals!" The characters were carved with great flair and vigor as if penned by an immortal’s hand.
Lin Ning gazed at these characters with awe swelling within him.
Looking around, he noticed that this scene resembled Yunshan Island’s Fallen Icicle Cave almost exactly—snow-covered ground, exquisite ice sculptures, all wrapped in tranquility and mystery. As he took in this sight, memories flooded back to him—of Hu Xueyan and Lin Xiu during their time at Fallen Icicle Cave—moments that brought tears to his eyes.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself emotionally, he followed Niu Ben and Sai Xianhua into the cave where a chill rushed at them. Inside was dimly lit with only faint glimmers of ice reflecting light. Deep within the cave sat an elderly man with white hair yet youthful features on a crystal-clear block of ice; his eyes were closed as if meditating.
Before Lin Ning could speak up, the old man suddenly said: "You two have come from afar; please have some hot tea to warm yourselves!" His voice was soft yet resonated clearly within the quiet cave.
Lin Ning was startled; he thought to himself: My junior sister is on my back and not walking at all—how could this old man discern there are two of us? His internal strength must be unfathomably deep! This man must be none other than the renowned Senior Su Ji.
Sai Xianhua responded softly: "Yes, Master!" She then moved to a niche on the cave wall where she carefully opened a door and took out two exquisite teacups. She delicately placed a pinch of tea leaves and a piece of crystal-clear ice into each cup before handing them steadily to Lin Ning.
With suspicion in his heart, Lin Ning accepted one cup but wondered why it felt icy despite being called hot tea just moments ago? Just as he pondered this perplexity, Senior Su Ji suddenly opened his eyes wide like an eagle’s gaze piercing through those teacups.
He raised both hands sharply towards them like a tempest pointing at the cups; instantly Lin Ning felt two waves of scorching heat crash against them.
An astonishing scene unfolded—the ice cubes within melted instantly into clear spring water while the previously calm tea began heating up magically until it boiled vigorously with steam rising from its surface! The scalding snow water swirled within the cup as tender green tea leaves danced like fairies above it. A refreshing aroma filled the entire cave enchanting everyone present.
Lin Ning stood dumbfounded by this miraculous spectacle; it left him utterly speechless for quite some time before he finally snapped back to reality—he hastily placed down his teacup and knelt before Senior Su Ji with a thud exclaiming nervously: "I am Lin Ning from Sun Moon Gang; I pay my respects to Hero Su!"
Hearing Lin Ning introduce himself caused Senior Su Ji to show surprise; after exclaiming softly he asked slowly: "The leader of Sun Moon Gang Yuan Qingtian is related to you?"
Lin Ning quickly bowed respectfully before answering earnestly: "Leader Yuan is my master!"
Upon hearing this Senior Su Ji nodded thoughtfully before saying: "I see now why my two disciples are no match for you. So you have come seeking help for this girl afflicted by poison?"
Lin Ning replied eagerly: "Indeed! This girl is Leader Yuan’s beloved daughter—my junior sister Yuan Yueming! I hope Hero Su can show mercy and save her life."
After pondering for a moment Senior Su Ji spoke slowly: "While I have some connection with Leader Yuan which would typically compel me to assist his daughter; it is widely known that I have made it my rule never to treat Han people!"
Upon hearing this Lin Ning's expression darkened as he replied sternly: "What does it matter if they are Han or Jurchen? There are good people among both groups as well as bad ones! Hero Su’s hatred towards Han people—isn’t there fear of being accused of generalizing unfairly?"
Senior Su Ji remained silent for some time before finally speaking: "To be honest—I too am Han! My original surname was Zhou—my name Zhou Ji! My mother was from Jurchen nobility around Changbai Mountain while my father married her not out of love but ambition—to seize control over Jurchen tribes through marriage alliances! Once he achieved his goal—he ruthlessly killed my mother! Because of this I harbor deep resentment towards Han people which led me decisively change my surname from Zhou to Su!"
Listening intently to Senior Su Ji’s story stirred sympathy within Lin Ning who responded: "I understand Hero Su’s pain; however we cannot allow personal experiences dictate hatred towards all Han people! Now Jurchens under Hong Taiji are rampaging across cities committing atrocities leaving innocent civilians suffering immensely—these acts are equally abhorrent!"
Senior Su Ji nodded slightly indicating agreement with Lin Ning’s perspective adding: "Indeed—we view issues from different standpoints leading us toward varying conclusions! You are not me—I am not you—we cannot truly grasp each other’s feelings! As they say ‘Without knowing another’s suffering one cannot advise them toward goodness!’"
Hearing these words filled Lin Ning with disappointment; he had hoped to persuade Senior Su Ji into relinquishing his prejudice against Han people but now it seemed merely an unattainable dream! It appeared that Senior Su had made up his mind not to save Senior Sister Yuan! Without saving Master Yuan’s only bloodline—he found life unbearable especially since Xiu'er had already departed while Xue Yin's sister also left him behind—he felt weary toward this world wishing instead for departure alongside them!
Just then Senior Su spoke again: “Considering my past ties with Leader Yuan—I will make an exception this once!”
Lin Ning rejoiced beyond measure exclaiming eagerly: “Thank you Hero Su!”
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