Shooting the Eagle: Starting from Iron Palm Peak

At midnight, Lin Qi climbed out of the inn's window.

The night wind was cold, making his cheeks feel tight. He pulled his collar tighter and walked quickly along the wall towards the Zhao Prince's residence. The streets of Zhongdu were deserted, except for the night watchman walking past the alleyway, striking his clapper three times, the sound echoing in the night air.

He didn't want to alert anyone, including Guo Jing and Huang Rong. This was something he had to do alone.

The east wall of the Prince Zhao's residence was as dark as it had been the night before, with no patrolling guards. Lin Qi took two running steps, scaled the wall, and landed at the base of the back garden wall. He crouched for a while, making sure no one was around, before crouching low and making his way towards the northeast corner.

The northeast corner of the back garden was darker than the rest of the garden. There were no artificial hills, no pavilions, only weeds and a few crooked trees. The moonlight seemed to be sucked away by something, making it so dim that the ground was almost invisible.

Lin Qi slowed his pace, carefully searching through the weeds. He remembered that in the original story, the entrance to the cave where Mei Chaofeng hid was a stone slab covered with weeds. The slab wasn't large, about three feet square, and behind it was a sloping earthen staircase.

He groped around in the grass for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea when he suddenly stepped on something hard. He squatted down and parted the weeds to reveal a bluish-gray stone slab, its edges covered with mud and grass roots, almost invisible unless you looked closely.

right here.

Lin Qi took a deep breath, gripped the edge of the stone slab with his fingers, and tried to lift it upwards. The slab was heavy, and it took him seventy percent of his strength to pry it open. He then used his short knife to hold it in place and lifted it upwards again.

The stone slab was flipped open, revealing a dark, gaping hole. A damp, musty smell wafted out, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible odor of blood.

Lin Qi took out a tinderbox from his pocket, blew on it, and shone it down. Below the cave entrance was a steep, sloping earthen staircase covered in moss. He extinguished the tinderbox, put it back in his pocket, and began to descend the staircase.

The earthen steps were slippery, so he walked slowly, making sure each step was firmly planted before daring to take the next. After walking for about ten feet, the earthen steps came to an end, and a stone chamber appeared before him.

Lin Qi had just stepped into the stone chamber and hadn't even had time to stand firmly when a sharp whooshing sound suddenly rang out in the darkness.

A dark shadow lashed out from the side like a venomous snake, accompanied by a whistling sound. Lin Qi shifted his feet, his body slightly to the side, and the whip grazed his left shoulder, striking the stone wall with a "crack," sending fragments of stone flying. Before he could retaliate, a second whip swept across. Lin Qi's right palm shot out, striking the middle of the whip and deflecting it. The third whip followed, aimed straight for his throat. He tilted his head, his right hand smoothly pulling the whip tip aside, while his left hand swiftly grabbed the whip. Mei Chaofeng flicked her wrist, a powerful force striking Lin Qi, numbing his hand and causing the whip to slip from his grasp. However, he had already used this pull and tug to pinpoint his opponent's location.

"Stop," Lin Qi said in a deep voice. "I didn't come here to fight."

In the darkness, a deep, hoarse voice rang out.

"Not here to fight? Then what are you doing here? Committing suicide?"

Lin Qi took out a tinderbox, blew on it, and held it in front of him. The faint light illuminated his face and the corner of the stone chamber.

A woman dressed in black sat on the hay, leaning against the stone wall. She was in her forties, with a thin face, high cheekbones, and closed eyes with deep-set sockets—her eyeballs were gone, leaving only two dark, hollow holes. Her hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders, and in her right hand she gripped a long black whip, coiled in front of her like a venomous snake poised to strike.

Iron Corpse Mei Chaofeng.

Her face was turned toward Lin Qi, and her nostrils twitched twice, as if she were sniffing something.

"You're not from the Zhao Prince's residence." Her voice was cold. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Lynch didn't move. He stood there, holding the tinderbox steadily, his voice as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

"I'm here to save you."

Mei Chaofeng was taken aback for a moment, then sneered, "Save me? You, a mere brat, come to save me?"

"You don't believe me?" Lin Qi said calmly. "You're trapped in this cave, your legs can't move, you can't get out. How are you going to survive? Have you calculated how much longer you have to live?"

Mei Chaofeng's expression changed.

Lynch continued, "Three to five days? Seven or eight days? Have you calculated how long it's been since you last ate anything?"

Mei Chaofeng didn't speak. Her lips were trembling.

"If I hadn't come, you would have died here." Lin Qi's voice was calm and unhurried. "No one would know, no one would collect your body. Your scriptures, your martial arts, everything you have, will rot in this cave."

"You—" Mei Chaofeng raised her hand, her ten fingers bent like claws, exuding murderous intent.

Lynch did not back down. He didn't even change his expression.

"Don't rush to do it. Let me finish."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"Your legs aren't injured externally. It's because you've been practicing martial arts from the Nine Yin Manual without the proper Taoist internal energy cultivation, causing your internal energy to become disordered in your meridians. What you lack isn't some profound mental technique, but rather a few key incantations. With these incantations, your legs will immediately become unblocked."

Mei Chaofeng's breathing became rapid.

"You...you have a formula?"

"I have."

"Give me!"

Lin Qi looked at her and said calmly, "Why should I?"

Mei Chaofeng gripped the whip tightly, her dark blue fingernails gleaming coldly in the firelight.

"Do you believe I'll kill you?"

"I believe you," Lynch said. "First, you might not be able to kill me. Even if you could, the incantation would be gone. You'd never be able to stand up again. And—"

He paused, staring directly into Mei Chaofeng's dark, hollow eyes, and his tone suddenly turned cold.

"I could have waited until you were dead before coming. You have nothing to eat or drink now, and you won't last more than a few days. Once you've starved to death, I'll come down; the scriptures are mine, and you won't have to give me anything. Do you think I need to risk coming to see you?"

Mei Chaofeng's breathing stopped for a moment.

Lynch continued, "I didn't wait. I came. I brought the incantation while you were still alive. I'm not here to steal your scriptures; I'm here to make a deal. You exchange the scriptures for the incantation. Fair and reasonable."

Mei Chaofeng's face turned ashen. She knew Lin Qi was telling the truth. Trapped in this cave, without food or water, she wouldn't survive long even if Lin Qi hadn't come. He could simply wait until she died and then collect her body without lifting a finger.

But he didn't.

"Why did you do this?" Her voice trailed off.

"Because I don't think you should die here," Lin Qi said calmly.

Indeed, according to the original plot, Guo Jing would be chased by Liang Ziweng and fall into this place, and then he would rescue her.

Now, because of Lin Qi's appearance, that part of the story is gone, and Mei Chaofeng can only wait to die here. He felt somewhat guilty.

However, despite feeling guilty, I still have to get the Nine Yin Manual.

"The second volume of the Nine Yin Manual. Lend me a copy, and I'll return it to you. After you've finished copying it, I'll tell you the incantation," Lin Qi continued.

"Give me the incantation first, then I'll give you the scriptures," Mei Chaofeng said.

Lin Qi shook his head: "No. Give me the scriptures first, then the incantations."

"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you after I get the incantation?"

"I'm afraid," Lin Qi said. "So, I won't give you the formulas until I finish copying the scriptures. You get the scriptures, I get the formulas—a fair trade."

Mei Chaofeng gritted her teeth: "What if I kill you and search you?"

"You can try," Lin Qi said calmly. "Your martial arts are indeed superior to mine, but you have a disability in your legs. If it really comes down to a fight to the death, you might not win. Besides, the incantation is in my head, not on paper. If you kill me, the incantation will be lost forever."

Mei Chaofeng remained silent.

long time.

Lin Qi didn't urge her. He stood there, holding the tinderbox steadily, his breathing calm, his gaze serene.

He knew Mei Chaofeng was weighing her options. She was a smart woman. She knew her situation—no food, no water, crippled, and destined to die. Lin Qi was her only way out. And what he wanted was insignificant to her. She had memorized the scriptures perfectly; that human skin was merely a souvenir to her.

"Go ahead and copy it," Mei Chaofeng finally spoke, picking up a cloth bag from the hay and handing it to Lin Qi. "Give it back to me when you're done. If you dare to try anything funny, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth and take your life."

Lin Qi took the cloth bag, opened it, and inside was a neatly folded human skin. He carefully unfolded the skin and, by the light of the tinderbox, began to copy it.

He didn't pick and choose. He copied it word by word, from beginning to end.

The stone chamber was utterly silent, save for the faint crackling of the tinderbox and the sound of Lin Qi copying. Mei Chaofeng sat to one side, her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She couldn't see, but she could hear—the sound of Lin Qi turning the pages, the sound of him changing the tinderbox. Every second was agonizing.

She waited for those three lines of incantation. She waited for far too long.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Qi finally finished copying. He folded the human skin neatly and returned it to Mei Chaofeng.

Mei Chaofeng took it, rubbed the human skin repeatedly to make sure it was correct, and then put it back in her bosom.

"What about the mnemonic?"

Lin Qi tucked the copy into his pocket, stood up, and looked at her.

"Senior Mei, listen carefully."

He recited three sentences. These were the three most crucial lines of the Complete Perfection Dao Song, specifically used to guide internal energy through the meridians of the legs. Mei Chaofeng shuddered upon hearing them. She closed her eyes, placed her hands on her knees, and began to circulate her energy according to the incantation.

A moment later, her legs suddenly trembled.

An expression of disbelief crossed her face. She tried to move her toes, then her ankles. Then, slowly, very slowly, she lifted her legs off the hay.

She can move now.

Her lips were trembling, her fingers were trembling, her whole body was trembling. After twenty years, she finally regained feeling in her legs.

Lynch looked at her, but didn't move. He was waiting.

Mei Chaofeng raised her head, her dark, hollow eyes meeting his gaze. Her face held no gratitude, only anger at being mocked.

"You knew all along...you knew these three lines of mantra could cure my leg...you deliberately didn't tell me, forcing me to give you the scripture..."

"Yes." Lynch didn't deny it. "I said, a fair trade. You get the scriptures, I get the formulas. Neither of us owes the other anything."

Mei Chaofeng suddenly raised her hands, her ten fingers curled like claws. Although her legs had just regained feeling, they were already strong enough to support her as she stood up. Slowly, very slowly, she stood up.

Lin Qi didn't wait for her to stand up properly.

He turned and ran.

The earthen steps were steep and slippery, but he had already traversed them once before and knew where he was going. He climbed up using both hands and feet, taking three steps at a time. Behind him came Mei Chaofeng's sharp, piercing voice.

"You little thief! Stop right there!"

The sound of a whip whistling through the air chased after him, lashing the earthen steps and sending dirt flying. Lin Qi dared not look back, desperately climbing upwards. He burst out of the cave, grabbed a stone slab, and slammed it down.

The moment the stone slab was covered, he heard a roar from below.

Lin Qi didn't stop. He covered himself with weeds, climbed over the wall out of the Zhao Prince's Mansion, and ran all the way.

The night wind was cold, but it felt warm all over his body as it blew against his face. He touched the copy in his arms—the second volume of the Nine Yin Manual—it was all in his hands now.

Mei Chaofeng hated him. He knew it.

But he didn't care. With the scriptures in hand, his martial arts would improve dramatically in no time. Although Mei Chaofeng's martial arts were slightly superior to his, her legs had only just recovered, and it would take at least several months for her to return to a level where she could hunt him down. Several months later, he would no longer be the same person he was now.

Lin Qi ran back to the inn and climbed over the wall. The courtyard was quiet; the light in Guo Jing's room was off, and Wang Chuyi's room was dark.

Lynch returned to his room, hid the copy, and lay down.

He closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

He has the scriptures. From now on, his path will be much faster.

Outside the window, the moon slowly moved to the center of the sky, and the night grew deeper.