Shooting the Eagle: Starting from Iron Palm Peak

The night was long in the dilapidated temple.

Lin Qi leaned against the wall, dozing off for a while in a half-awake state, before waking up just as dawn was breaking. The fire had died down, but wisps of smoke still rose from the embers. Mu Nianci was curled up on the dry grass, covered with her outer garment, fast asleep. Morning light filtered through the cracks in the broken roof, falling on her face; her long eyelashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow on her cheek.

Lin Qi didn't wake her. He tiptoed outside the temple and stretched his limbs. The morning mountain breeze was cool, carrying the scent of pine needles and dew. The distant mountains appeared and disappeared in the morning mist, like a traditional Chinese ink painting. He stood there for a while, then returned to the temple. Mu Nianci was already awake and was gathering dry grass.

"Why didn't you call me?" she asked, her voice a little hoarse.

"Let you sleep a little longer."

Mu Nianci didn't say anything more. She took out dried rations and a water pouch from her bundle, and the two ate two steamed buns with cold water for breakfast. As they left the dilapidated temple, the sun had just peeked over the eastern mountain ridge, painting the entire sky a pale gold. Mu Nianci slung her iron spear back over her shoulder, mounted her horse, and followed behind Lin Qi. The two horses walked slowly along the official road, the sound of their hooves like raindrops hitting tiles.

After traveling for about an hour, the official road entered a dense forest. The trees were tall, their branches intertwined, completely blocking out the sunlight. The light in the forest became dim, the air became damp, and the road was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, making almost no sound as the horses' hooves trod upon it.

Lynch suddenly reined in his horse.

He sensed it. Something was in the woods, following them, neither too close nor too far. It wasn't a wild animal; wild animals wouldn't move with such a predictable pattern. It was a person, and someone skilled in martial arts at that.

Mu Nianci noticed it too; her hand had already touched the gun barrel, and her eyes warily scanned the surrounding woods.

"Come out." Lin Qi's voice wasn't loud, but it carried far in the quiet forest.

The leaves rustled for a while, and a dark figure emerged from behind the tree.

Dressed in black, with black hair, a deathly pale face, and sunken eyes—no eyeballs, just two dark, gaping holes. This was Mei Chaofeng, the Iron Corpse. Her legs had fully recovered; she walked without a tremor, her steps as light as a cat's.

Lynch did not move.

Mu Nianci gripped her iron spear tightly. She had never met Mei Chaofeng, but the woman's appearance and aura instinctively made her feel danger. Lin Qi stretched out his hand, blocking her way, signaling her not to move.

"Lin Qi, long time no see." Mei Chaofeng's voice was still as deep and hoarse as ever, like sandpaper rubbing against sheet metal. Her face was turned towards Lin Qi, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, carrying a hint of coldness. "You think I can't find you just because you've hidden on Iron Palm Peak? I've been looking for you all this time."

Lin Qi dismounted and stood between her and Mu Nianci. He glanced at Mei Chaofeng; her legs had fully recovered, but she stood there with an indescribable tension, like a wild beast that might pounce at any moment.

"Senior Mei, what brings you to me?"

"The internal energy cultivation technique you gave me is real," Mei Chaofeng said, her voice carrying a strange emotion, like a mix of emotion and anger. "I practiced it for a while, and my legs healed, my meridians opened, and my martial arts improved. You're a man of your word."

"Then Senior Mei should thank me, not come to kill me," Lin Qi said calmly.

Mei Chaofeng sneered. "Thank you? You tricked me out of the Nine Yin Manual, and you expect me to thank you?"

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly raised both hands, her ten fingers curled like claws, her nails gleaming bluish-black in the dim forest.

Nine Yin White Bone Claw. Lin Qi had seen her in action in the Zhongdu cave. Back then, her legs were crippled, and she forced him into a frantic struggle with just a whip. Now that her legs were healed, and she used both hands, the power was incomparable. But he was no longer the Lin Qi of Zhongdu.

Mei Chaofeng did not act immediately. She seemed to be hesitating about something.

"At Guiyun Manor, I saw my master." Her voice suddenly lowered. "He didn't kill me. Out of consideration for our master-disciple relationship, he spared my life. But he gave me an order."

Her voice suddenly became shrill, carrying an inexplicable madness.

"I will personally kill anyone who has practiced the martial arts of the Nine Yin Manual! Leave no one alive! This is my master's order, and it's my only chance to live!"

Lynch looked at her face. There were no pupils in those dark eye sockets, but he could feel that she was "looking" at him, her gaze burning like fire.

"You think you can escape?" Mei Chaofeng's voice echoed through the forest. "You copied the Nine Yin Manual from me and practiced its martial arts. You think I didn't know? Your internal energy is more than twice as strong as when you left Zhongdu. You think I couldn't see that?"

She took a step forward, her fingers curled, and her claws aimed at Lin Qi's chest.

"Lin Qi, you can't escape today."

Mu Nianci dismounted, drew her iron spear, and pointed the tip at Mei Chaofeng. Lin Qi reached out and stopped her.

"Step back," he said.

Mu Nianci bit her lip and took two steps back, but she didn't lower the tip of her spear. Her eyes were fixed on Mei Chaofeng, ready to rush forward at any moment.

Mei Chaofeng moved. Her movements were incredibly fast, more than twice as fast as when she was in the Zhongdu underground cave. She lashed out with a claw, aiming straight for Lin Qi's face, her five fingers tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

Lin Qi did not retreat. He extended his right palm and struck at her claw. The first stance of the Iron Palm Technique, "Pushing Mountain Stance," concentrated his palm power into a single line, colliding with Mei Chaofeng's claw.

With a loud thud, both women took two steps back. Mei Chaofeng's right hand trembled slightly, and tiny cracks appeared on her fingernails. An expression of disbelief crossed her face.

"you--"

Lin Qi remained silent. His second palm strike had already arrived, its power even more concentrated than the first, creating a sharp whistling sound as it passed. Mei Chaofeng quickly used her left hand to block, retreating three steps.

She steadied herself, her expression shifting from shock to solemnity. Her Nine Yin White Bone Claw was her most prized skill; countless masters had fallen to this move over the years. She had assumed Lin Qi was still the young man in the Zhongdu cave who needed to make a deal to escape unscathed, but she hadn't expected his martial arts to have improved to this extent in just a few months.

"You've practiced the skills from the Nine Yin Manual?" Her voice trembled slightly.

"I practiced it," Lin Qi didn't deny it, "but not your killing techniques. I practiced the Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian, a technique for conditioning muscles and bones and enhancing internal strength. I didn't touch anything else."

Mei Chaofeng gritted her teeth and charged forward again. This time, she unleashed both claws, creating a flurry of claw shadows that enveloped Lin Qi.

Lin Qi countered with his Iron Palm technique, his palms flashing and sharp as knives. The two exchanged over twenty blows in the forest, and Mei Chaofeng grew increasingly alarmed. Lin Qi's palm techniques seemed simple, but each strike precisely blocked her path, rendering her prized Nine Yin White Bone Claw utterly ineffective against him.

His movements were much faster than in Zhongdu; he anticipated every claw strike and dodged with ease. What was even more terrifying was the sheer force of his palm strikes.

With each strike, she felt as if she were colliding with an iron hammer; her arm grew increasingly numb, and her tiger's mouth (the area between her thumb and forefinger) had split open.

After exchanging more than ten moves, Lin Qi suddenly changed his tactics. He withdrew his right palm and followed with his left, striking out with both palms simultaneously, one in front and one behind. The first palm broke through Mei Chaofeng's claw shadow, while the second palm went straight for her chest.

With a loud bang, Mei Chaofeng was sent flying, crashing into a large tree. The tree trunk trembled violently, and leaves rustled down. She slid to the ground, half-kneeling, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Lin Qi stood before her, slowly withdrawing his right palm, his expression unchanged. He had only used half his strength in that strike.

"Senior Mei, you should leave. I don't want to kill you."

Mei Chaofeng raised her head, her dark, hollow eyes fixed on Lin Qi. Her lips trembled, not from fear, but from resentment.

"How...how could your martial arts skills have improved so quickly?"

Lin Qi did not answer. He looked down at his palms, which were slightly warm.

He has mastered the Iron Palm Technique and practiced the Tendon-Changing and Bone-Forging Chapter of the Nine Yin Manual for over a year, making his internal strength more than twice as strong as before.

His martial arts skills are no longer those of the young man who couldn't even withstand three moves from Mei Chaofeng in the underground cave of Zhongdu.

"I did copy the second volume of your Nine Yin Manual. But I didn't simply practice it; I integrated it into my Iron Palm Technique, borrowing its principles but not its techniques. Your master, Huang Yaoshi, ordered you to kill everyone who had practiced the manual, but I don't count as having practiced it. You can go back and report now."

Mei Chaofeng remained silent for a long time. She slowly stood up, leaning against the tree trunk, and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her face was even paler than when she arrived, as white as paper.

"You really won't kill me?" Her voice was very soft.

"I told you, you should leave."

Mei Chaofeng didn't say anything more. She turned around, staggered into the woods, and disappeared into the darkness.

Silence returned to the woods. Mu Nianci sheathed her gun and walked to Lin Qi's side. Her face was still a little pale, but her eyes were bright.

"Brother Lin, who is she?"

Mei Chaofeng. Disciple of Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic.

Will she come looking for you again?

Lin Qi thought for a moment and said, "No. She can't beat me now, and coming again would just be suicide. She's not stupid."

Mu Nianci didn't ask any more questions. She returned to her horse, slung her iron spear back over her shoulder, and mounted. The two continued on their way. After a few steps, Mu Nianci suddenly spoke, her voice very soft: "Brother Lin, why did you let her go?"

Lin Qi thought for a moment and said, "She killed a lot of people, so she deserved to die. But she was also a pitiful person. Besides, she shouldn't have died at my hands."

She has her mission. In the near future, she will shield Huang Yaoshi from Ouyang Feng's fatal blow and be taken back into Huang Yaoshi's fold. Lin Qi does not want to ruin this ending.

Mu Nianci didn't reply. She rode on her horse, watching Lin Qi's back for a while, then gently spurred her horse and followed.

The dense forest gradually came to an end, and sunlight poured down from the treetops, shining brightly on the official road. The distant mountains shimmered with a bluish-gray light in the sunlight, the sky was very blue, the clouds were very white, and the wind was very gentle.

Lin Qi didn't know if Mei Chaofeng would really go back to report to Huang Yaoshi, nor did he know what Huang Yaoshi would think after learning of his existence. But those were things for the future.

Now all he has to do is continue north to find the first volume of the Nine Yin Manual and walk the path he is meant to walk.