will take your other eye。” The Wu swordmen jumped back involuntarily。 Feng Li said “Lady， Iwill give you one hundred goats， but let these eight men leave。”The maiden smiled “You”re a。 nice man。 Idon“t want one hundred goats。 Ionly want one。”Feng Li said to the guard “Acpany the ambassadors from the Great Kingdom back to the palace。 Summon the physicians to treat their wounds。” The eight Wu swordmen left crestfallen， like cocks who had lost a。 fight。 Feng Li walked toward the maiden and said “Lady， what is your respected surname？” The maiden said “What did you say？” He rephrased the question “What is your name？” The maiden said “Oh， my name is Ah Ching。 What is yours？”Feng Li smiled and thought “So she is just a。 simple country girl unversed in courtly manners。 Yet she learned this godlike sword skill。 Ionly have to learn who her master is， then Ican invite her teacher to train Yueh warriors。 Wu will not be able to stand against us。” His heart warmed as he realized that he“s closer to bring Si Shi back。 Then he said ”I am called Feng Li。 Lady， why don“t you have a。 meal in my home？” Ah Ching said “No， Ihave to herd the goats to pasture。” Feng Li said “I have a。 large lawn in my home。 Your goats can feed there， then Iwill pensate you with ten fat goats。”Ah Ching clapped her hands together and laughed “You have a。 big lawn？ Good， but Idon”t want any goat from you。 You didn“t kill this goat。” She knelt to the ground and petted the dead goat。 Then she said sadly “Old White， bad man killed you。 Ican”t save you this time。“Feng Li ordered his guard ”Sew the body back together and bury it next to this lady“s house。”Ah Ching stood up。 Her face was stained by tears， but her eyes was happy。 “Feng Li， you won”t let them eat Old White？“Feng Li said ”Of course not。 That“s your Old White。 No one is permitted to eat him。”Ah Ching sighed “You are nice。 Ialways hate to let other people kill my goats so they can eat the meat， but mother said that unless we sell our goat， we will not have money for rice。”Feng Li said “From today on， Iwill ask people to send your mother rice and good clothes。 You don”t have to sell your goats anymore。“Ah Ching became happy and embraced Feng Li ”You are a。 good man。“Feng Li held her hand， afraid that she might disappear like some immortal from legend。 The goats followed them back to his mansion。 As Ah Ching herded her goats into the mansion she said ”Your house is so large！ How can you live here alone？“Feng Li smiled ”Yes， Ithink this house is too big for me。 Why don“t you e live here with your mother？ Who else do you have in your family？”Ah Ching said “Just me and my mom。 Idon”t know if my mom wants to e。 She always says that Ishouldn“t talk to strange man， but you are a。 good man。 You won”t harm us。“Feng Li told Ah Ching to leave the goats in the garden and ordered his servants to pick out the best snacks for Ah Ching。 The servants watched in shock as the goats devoured the expensive flowers in the garden。 They were even more shocked when they observed their master watching the destruction with a。 happy smile。 Ah Ching ate the pastries and drank the tea。 Feng Li talked with and discovered that she”s innocent of the intrigues of the world。 Finally he asked “Ah Ching， who taught you sword skills？”Ah Ching“s large， clear eyes opened wider and said ”Sword skill？ No one ever taught me anything。“Feng Li said ”The way you used that bamboo stick。 That“s sword skill。 Who taught that？”Ah Ching shook her head “No one。 Ialways knew how to play with the bamboo stick。”Feng Li saw that she was too innocent to lie and thought “Did heaven finally send down a。 miracle？” He asked again “Do you know how to play with this bamboo since you”re a。 child？“Ah Ching said ”No。 When Iwas thirteen， Grandpa White came to ride my goats。 Iwouldn“t let him and beat him off with my bamboo stick。 He returned with a。 bamboo stick。 Ithen fought with him。 At first， he always score hits on me and Ican”t score hits on him。 Iplay this everyday。 Now， Iscore hits on him most of the time and he can“t score hits on me。 He isn”t ing back as often now。“Feng thought he finally hit something and said ”Where does this Grandpa White live？ Can you take me to him？“Ah Ching said ”He lives in the mountains。 You can“t find him。 He usually es and find me。 Inever tried to find him。”Feng Li said “I want to meet him。 Is there a。 way？”Ah Ching said “Hmm。 You can follow me to pasture。 We will wait for him on the mountain side。 Idon”t know when he“ll show though。” She sighed “I haven”t seen him for a。 while now。“Feng Li said to himself ”This is for Yi Kwan and the kingdom of Yueh。 Alittle goat herding won“t hurt。” so he said “Good， I”ll acpany you and wait for Grandpa White。“ He thought ”Grandpa White must be the sword sage who taught this girl。 He must have loved her youth and innocence， so he used play to teach her。 He could make a。 young girl into the such agreat master， then he could make our warriors destroy Wu。 After the meal， Feng Li followed her to mountain pastures to her goats。 His subordinates didn“t understand the reason。 They were all baffled。 Day after day， Feng Li went with Ah Ching to herd goat and sang songs， waiting for Grandpa White。 On the fifth day， Wen Chung came to Feng Li”s mansion and saw a。 very worried chamberlain。 He asked “I haven”t seen Minister Feng for a。 few days now。 The King is worried and ordered to me to visit。 Did Minister Feng e down sick？“The chamberlain said ”Minister Feng is healthy， but……but……“”But？“”Minister Wen is the best friend of Miister Feng。 You can say things to him that are not appropriate for us to say。 Why don“t you try to talk some sense into him？”Wen Chung was baffled “Sense？ What”s wrong with Minister Feng？“”Minister Feng fell love with that little shepherdess。 Every morning he leaves with her and don“t return until after sundown。 He won”t permit any guards following him。 He will not be bothered even when Ihave urgent affairs。“Wen Chung laughed and thought ”When Brother Feng was living in the kingdom of Chuh， everyone called him Feng the Crazy。 He never does things like other people。“At that time， Feng Li was sitting on a。 mountain side grassland and telling Ah Ching the story of the goddess Hsiang Fei。 Ah Ching was sitting close by his side and listened to him intent， her large bright eyese never left his face。 Suddenly she said ”Hsiang Fei is really that beautiful？“Feng Li said ”Her eyes are clearer and brighter than the water in this mountain stream……“Ah Ching said ”Does she have fish in her eyes？“Feng Li continued ”Her skin is like the clouds， but fairer。“Ah Ching said ”Are there birds flying in those clouds？“Feng Li continued obliviously ”Her lips are softer than the petal of this flower and redder。 Her lips are moist， even more than the dews on this petal。 When Hsiang Fei stands next to the river， the beauty of her reflection made all the riverside flowers wilt in shame。 Even fish dare not swim in water for fear of rumpling her reflection。 When her white hand is dipped into the river， it was so soft that it could almost melt into the water……“Ah Ching said ”You saw her， didn“t you。 How else can you describe her so clearly？”Feng Li said “I saw her。 Isaw her very， very clearly。”Of course， he was referring to Si Shi， not the goddess Hsiang Fei。 He looked at the north。 His eyes looked beyond a。 wide， roaring river。 Is the beauty in the royal palace of Wu。 Is she with King Fu Chai？ Is she thinking about me？
Ah Ching said “Feng Li！ Your beard is strange， can Itouch it？”Feng Li thought “Is she weeping， or laughing？”Ah Ching said “Feng Li， you have two strands of white beard， just like my goats。”Feng Li thought “When we”re separated， she wept on my shoulder。 Her tear soaked half of my robe。 Inever washed that robe。 My tears were mingled with hers on that robe。“Ah Ching said ”Feng Li。 Can Ipull out one of your beard？ Iwill pull gently。 You won“t feel a。 thing。”Feng Li thought “She said she loved riding in a。 boat and float with the currents。 After Itake her back， Iwill not be a。 court minister anymore。 Iwill ride a。 boat with her， floating in rivers and lakes， for the rest of my life。”Suddenly， he felt a。 sharp pain on his chin。 Ah Ching pulled out a。 strand of his beard。 She laughed prettily。 Suddenly the laugh was cut off and she said “You”re here again！“A green shadow flashed as Ah Ching shot forward。 Agreen blur and a。 white blur was moving quickly around each other。 Feng Li cried gladly ”Grandpa White“s here！” It“s a。 while before the two batants slowed down enough for him to get a。 good look。 Then he got agreat surprise。 The one fighting Ah Ching wasn”t human。 It was a。 white ape。 The white ape， too， was holding a。 bamboo stick。 The white ape performed intricate sword forms。 The whooshing sound of the stick signaled the great strength it put into each form。 But everytime he attack， Ah Ching was always able to block or redirect each blow and counterattack using even more intricate sword forms。 When Ah Ching fought the Wu swordmen， the forms she used were minimal。 Only now Feng Li witnessed the vast skill Ah Ching wielded。 He was no expert in swords， but he had looked at the Yueh swordmen train for many years。 Now， he realized that the best swordmen of Yueh were but children playing with toys when pared to Ah Ching and Grandpa。 The white ape“s attacks sped up faster and faster。 Ah Ching slowed down instead。 She stood still， but each time she thrusted with her bamboo stick， the white ape was forced to jump back。 Ah Ching forced the white ape three steps， then she pulled back her stick and stood still。 The white ape held his stick in two hands and jumped to attack。 Feng Li saw the strength of the attack and cried out ”Watch out！“ Ah Ching”s stick moved too fast to be seen。 There were two muffled sounds of impact， then the white ape“s bamboo stick dropped to the ground。 The white ape howed and jumped up to a。 tree。 Then it leaped away。 The howl was intense，