The old woman vanished all of a sudden. Wuming looked around in every direction. Just a moment ago, the old woman had been standing right in front of him; how could she have disappeared without a trace now?
Wuming found this whole affair exceedingly bizarre. Could that old woman have been He Xiangu manifesting herself?
Oh no! At this thought, Wuming immediately dropped to his knees and banged his head against the ground in a series of loud kowtoos right where the old woman had been standing.
Only then did he raise his eyes to the sky and say, "Celestial Maiden, please forgive your junior for failing to recognize Mount Tai and presumptuously accepting your Little Jade Rabbit. This is truly a sin of sins! However, please rest assured, Celestial Maiden, that I, Wuming, will take good care of the Little Jade Rabbit, and when we meet again in the future, I will return it intact."
With that, Wuming looked up again, but the sky remained unchanged, showing no special reactions or alterations.
Since things stood thus, Wuming had no choice but to get to his feet and carefully tuck the Little Jade Rabbit inside his tunic for safekeeping.
From this exact moment on, a sudden weight of concern added itself to Wuming's heart. He wondered if the Celestial Maiden would come to visit him again in the days to come.
All in all, he hoped the Celestial Maiden had spoken the truth; if only the Little Jade Rabbit in his bosom could bring him good luck, he would thank the heavens and the earth when the time came.
Wuming had no time to dwell on it. After all, his master's current situation was perilous indeed.
Faced with reality, he could delay no longer. Hurrying back to Rhino Mountain to rescue his master was his top priority right now.
With this thought, Wuming immediately employed his lightness kung fu to press onward on his journey, striving to catch up with the Black and White Fiends at top speed.
Yet how easy was it to achieve his goal? By the time Wuming ran frantically all the way to Rhino Mountain, night had already fallen, and the entire mountain looked dim and murky.
Even so, Wuming flashed into Rhino Mountain.
When Wuming approached Yuanshun Temple, a quick glance showed it to be utterly peaceful, as if nothing had happened at all. Could it be that the Black and White Fiends had not come here to cause trouble for his master?
That couldn't be right! He had clearly heard the Black and White Fiends say they were coming to Rhino Mountain to take his master's life; why hadn't they come after all? Perhaps he had misunderstood them.
In truth, however, no matter how good Wuming's lightness kung fu was, he could not outrun the fast horses of the Black and White Fiends, not to mention that Wuming had wasted a great deal of time while rescuing the old woman.
After knocking down the old woman, the Black and White Fiends had not paused their mounts, but instead whipped them into a gallop and arrived directly before the courtyard gates of Yuanshun Temple.
Black Sha shouted at the top of his lungs, "Kaishan old thief, get your ass out here right now!"
Hearing the voice, Kaishan Zhenren knew immediately that the Black and White Fiends had arrived. Sixteen years ago, they had crossed swords; but back then, the Black and White Fiends were mere novices whose cultivation had not reached its peak, and consequently they had been defeated by him.
Now that the Black and White Fiends had sought him out, Kaishan Zhenren had no wish to evade them. He had to face them head-on; sooner or later, this vicious battle was unavoidable.
Kaishan Zhenren flew down from the cliffside and stood before the Black and White Fiends, demanding, "What is this? Have you come to settle accounts with me?"
"That is precisely the case," Black Sha replied without hesitation. "It seems you haven't forgotten the events of back then. We have searched for you for sixteen years, and now the time has come for you to hand over the *Spirit God Sutra*."
"I told you long ago that there is no *Spirit God Sutra*, but you stubbornly refused to believe me," Kaishan Zhenren said with unshakeable firmness. "Very well! Since you are here, this old man must accompany you to the very end. Let us dispense with idle talk and strike at once!"
"Elder Brother, why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?" White Sha said. "Wait on the side while I alone deal with this old thief!" With those words, White Sha drew his sword and charged.
Facing such a ferocious evildoer, how could Kaishan Zhenren dare to be careless? After all, he was advanced in years, and his opponent before him was a fierce tiger fresh out of the mountains; no matter what, he had to handle him with caution.
Sure enough, after a dozen-odd passes, the two remained deadlocked, neither able to gain the upper hand. This proved that the kung fu of the Black and White Fiends had indeed improved immensely.
Even so, Kaishan Zhenren was unfazed; he believed firmly that he would never lose to this villain.
After a bout of combat, White Sha was gradually forced onto the defensive, left with only the strength to parry blows.
Standing off to the side, Black Sha was secretly astonished. He had not expected the old thief's kung fu to be no less formidable than it was in the past.
Faced with such a scene, Black Sha could remain a spectator no longer. Letting out a furious roar, he barked, "Kaishan old thief, go to hell!"
Before his voice had even faded, Black Sha's treasured sword flashed forth, sandwiching Kaishan Zhenren between front and rear in a pincer attack.
At this, Kaishan Zhenren dared even less to take the enemy lightly. The slightest carelessness could mean mortal peril, destroying his lifelong reputation in a single stroke.
Even so, Kaishan Zhenren still could not gain the upper hand. If this dragged on, he would be slain by the villains.
After fighting for a while longer, Kaishan Zhenren felt truly helpless. It seemed he had no choice but to unleash his ultimate technique, the Kaishan Palm.
With this thought, Kaishan Zhenren instantly executed a feint and leaped out of the combat circle. He discarded his sword in favor of his palms, unleashing a strike of the Kaishan Palm on the fly.
He knew the Black and White Fiends before him were formidable foes indeed, and he had to win with a single blow, or the consequences would be unthinkable. Keeping this in mind, he poured five tenths of his internal energy into the strike.
Believe it or not, the Kaishan Palm of Kaishan Zhenren was devastatingly powerful. Had the Black and White Fiends not possessed extraordinary kung fu, they would have been killed on the spot.
Even so, the Black and White Fiends were blasted several yards away by the Kaishan Palm, collapsing to the ground quite obviously unable to move.
As for Kaishan Zhenren himself, his state was even more wretched. He stumbled several steps and nearly collapsed to the earth, for he was too old to expend energy beyond his limit.
Though their internal injuries were severe, the Black and White Fiends felt rather pleased in their hearts; after all, the Kaishan Palm of the Kaishan old thief proved to be nothing more than this.
After resting for a moment, the Black and White Fiends struggled to their feet. They were determined to kill the Kaishan old thief no matter what.
At that very moment, Wuming hurried back. Seeing the tranquility before Yuanshun Temple, he finally set his mind at ease—perhaps the people the Black and White Fiends were looking for weren't his master after all.
Without pausing his steps, Wuming rushed quickly into Yuanshun Temple and into the bedroom to see what was happening, only to find no trace of his master.
Turning back, he hurried toward the base of the cliff, where he spotted figures engaged in combat.
Oh no! It seemed the disaster he feared had finally come to pass. But could his master possibly defeat the Black and White Fiends?
Panic seized Wuming. He hurried over through the dim light of the night, and sure enough, he found his master struggling to hold his own against the Black and White Fiends.
Daring not to delay, Wuming shouted at the top of his lungs, "Master, your disciple is here!"