Chapter 3: Chapter 3: A Devious Trap

Just then, the whole crowd and the rioters lunged forward. Alarmed, Li Yingshan flew up and spun in the air like a top. Her sword held out, she fended off her attackers.

Is this a trap?

She landed on the ground, slowly circling. A growl escaped her lips, "Who dares to attack a daughter of the Li family?"

With a yell, others rushed towards her. She slashed out with her sword, Wudan无担 wúdān - translates to "Without Worry or No Burden" and knocked them back. But the attacks came from on all fronts. She fought valiantly, but she was too greatly outnumbered. Her right arm got cut, and a low swipe dropped her to one knee. Li Yingshan glared at all of them.

"My father will never forgive you for this!"

With a roar, she leapt up and fought with renewed vigor. Her sword was drenched in blood as the bodies began to pile up. She didn't recognize any of these people, which worried her.

Were they hired to come after me? If so, who hired them? Who has a grudge against me?

Over twenty swords were pointed right at her. Her eyes narrowed.

"You asked for it now," she muttered.

She threw out her hand and small needles flew out. They caught in the necks of five men, paralyzing them. She swiped with Wudan in her other hand and felled three more. Li Yingshan flew forward, sword held out at the one who seemed to be the leader. He drew back using qinggong. She twisted and slid her sword across another man's chest.

"Jie jie!"

She whipped around. "I told you to stay put!"

One of the refugee's children was held in the leader's grasp. The boy was crying.

"Third Young Lady Li, give up now or else this child won't be returning home."

She snarled, "You'd even dare to harm an innocent child?"

Seething, she held out her sword. The leader huffed. "Surrender to your fate now, Third Young Lady Li."

"Let the child go first. Otherwise, I won't drop my weapon."

The leader released the child. He ran crying over to Li Yingshan. She squatted down and patted his head.

"It's okay. Run on back now. Jie jie will be fine."

The boy nodded and ran away. Li Yingshan straightened and faced the leader.

"Who sent you after me?"

"Someone who wants you dealt with."

Then, he shot forward. Her eyes widened, and she jumped up. Her feet landed on the flat side of his blade, and she used it to jump up to the rooftops. Taking off, the assassins leapt up and began to chase her across Longxin City. As they reached the main thoroughfare, she stopped and turned. Seeing they were drawing closer, she prepared to jump down. Hiking her skirts, she ran to the edge of the roof and sprang off.

The leader threw out a dagger. It flew towards her, and she spun to avoid it. But the sharp edge still grazed along her back. Grunting, she landed hard on the ground, and many people spun to see her. Sensing her lower half below her waist go numb, she hit a few acupoints.

Figuring it was just shock on her spine from the hard impact, she turned and looked up. But the assassins were nowhere to be found. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Li Yingshan sighed, shook her head, and stumbled home.

When she burst into the Li family manor, Qiu Ling came running. "My Lady!"

"Qiu Ling," Li Yingshan gasped out.

The blood-drenched Wudan dropped from her hand. She dropped to her knees, falling into Qiu Ling's arms.

"My Lady, what happened?"

"I was ambushed. I- I can't feel my legs, Qiu Ling."

Horror filled her maid's eyes. "Come on, I'll help you back to your room."

Qiu Ling wrapped an arm around her back and picked up the sword in the other. She aided Li Yingshan all the way to her Peace of Mind residence. Laying her down on the bed, she set the sword off to the side.

"My Lady, may I look?"

Li Yingshan nodded. Her maid helped her undress and turn over. When she saw the cuts on her Lady's body, her eyes widened and teared up.

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"Who could do such a thing?" she sobbed.

"It's okay, Qiu Ling. They're just flesh wounds. They'll heal. I'm more worried about the feeling in my lower body."

Qiu Ling dressed and bandaged Li Yingshan's wounds. She examined the back cut but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Once she had redressed her, she stepped back. Li Yingshan slowly sat up and grunted in pain.

"Go find my father and have him call for a physician. I think something's really wrong."

"Yes, My Lady."

Qiu Ling left the residence and headed over to Old Li's room. She waited outside until his manservant came out. Following him in, she bowed before Old Li and reported what had happened to him. At first, he didn't believe her, but when she began to cry, he demanded for a physician. He got up and ran over to the Peace of Mind residence. Qiu Ling and his manservants followed after him.

When they all burst into the room, Li Yingshan tried to stand to greet her father but collapsed to her knees. His eyes widened.

"Shan'er... who did this to you?"

"I don't know, Father. I was caught off-guard. There was too of them. I was severely out-numbered and could only flee."

Disgust suddenly filled his eyes. "A daughter of the Li family flees? No way! You should've stuck your ground!"

Li Yingshan gaped at her father in shock. "If I hadn't, I would've died!"

"Death is better than cowardice."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own father was chastising her for cherishing her life?!

"And you would've rather had to bury your daughter? Does the family reputation matter more to you than your own children? I'm your daughter, your flesh and blood. Yet, do you care at all for my life or my well-being?"

SLAP.

Fury blazed in Old Li's eyes. "How dare you speak this way to me!"

A red hand mark swelled on Li Yingshan's right cheek. Tears welled in her eyes.

How can my own father treat me like this?

"My Lady!" Qiu Ling cried.

She ran over to her side and knelt down. "Master, my Lady didn't mean anything."

The physician entered and walked over. He pushed up her sleeve a bit and felt Li Yingshan's pulse and Gate of Vitalityrefers to a position on the wrist of someone's right hand (normally found in wuxia novels) as opposed to the actual acupoint in traditional Chinese medicine which is located on the wrist point. When he was done, he pulled her sleeve back down and stepped back, sighing.

"Third Young Lady Li, I'm afraid you've lost your martial arts."

She choked back a sob. Qiu Ling held her and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Physician Huan, can she recover them?"

Physician Huan shook his head sadly. "Old Li, from preliminary analysis, I'm afraid your daughter is paralyzed from the waist down."

Her father scoffed. "What? That's ridiculous. Shan'er stop pretending. This is unbecoming of you."

Tears streamed down her face as she tried crawling towards him. "Father, I'm not pretending. I really can't stand."

Physician Huan looked at her pityingly. "Third Young Lady Li, do you mind?"

She shook her head. "Not at all."

He walked over to her and examined her back, gently pushing along her spine. "Tell me when you can no longer feel me pressing down."

When he got to the small of her back, she nodded. "There."

Physician Huan sighed and gazed right at Li Yingshan. "It appears my conjecture is right. Third Young Lady Li, I fear you won't be able to walk again."

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